In our November 2017 corporate bulletin, we provided an update and overview of Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, which extensively amends the provisions of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and Employment Standards Act 2000 (ESA). Since our November Corporate Bulletin, we have received several inquiries regarding the
timeline of effective changes. What follows is a timeline of the dates upon which the various amendments become effective:
November 27, 2017
- Occupational Health and Safety Act: Prohibition on requirement to wear high heeled shoes, with exceptions.
- ESA: Misclassification of employees as independent contractors.
December 3, 2017
- ESA: Extended Parental Leave and New Critical Illness Leave
December 18, 2017
- Employment Standards poster version 7.0: Employers must post an up-to-date Employment Standards in Ontario poster prepared and published by the Minister of Labour in a place likely to be seen by employees. Employers are also required to give every employee a copy of the poster within 30 days of their hiring. Employers must now remove version 6.0 and replace it with version 7.0. An employer’s failure to post or distribute version 7.0 will constitute a violation of the ESA which could be subject to enforcement action. The current version of the poster can be accessed through the Ministry of Labour’s website at: https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/poster.php
January 1, 2018
- ESA: Minimum wage increase; Expansion of Paid Vacation entitlements; New formula for public holiday pay; Paid Personal Emergency Leave; New Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave; Extended Pregnancy Leave; Extended Family Medical Leave; New Child Death Leave; Overtime Provisions changes to multiple pay rate calculations; Tempor
- ary Help Agency, employee termination obligations; Crime Related Child disappearance leave; Removal of Crown employee exemption; Expansion of Employer-Employee doctrine; Increased penalties for non-compliance and expanded wage collection powers.
- LRA: Enhanced Union access to employee information; New Remedial Certification; OLRB review of bargaining unit structure; Card Based certification in the building service industry, home care and community services industry and temporary help agency industry; Just Cause protection following certification; Successor rights; Expanded use of first collective agreement arbitration and mediation; Increased fines for violations of LRA.
April 1, 2018
- ESA: Equal pay for equal work
January 1, 2019
- ESA: Minimum Wage, $15.00; Scheduling provisions, right to request schedule or location changes; Right to refuse shift assignments if shift assigned on less than ninety-six (96) hours’ notice; Scheduling: three (3) hour rule; Scheduling On Call Pay; Scheduling Cancellation of Shifts; Employer record obligations.
Employers are encouraged to ensure immediate compliance with those amendments currently in force and review their employment agreements, policies, practices and collective agreements to plan for future amendments. We confirm with you that the content of this article is to provide a general timetable of Bill 148 amendments and should not be considered legal advice. Clients are encouraged to contact a member of our labour and employment group with any questions.
Questions about this new law, or any labour/employment issue may be directed to the Labour & Employment team at Lancaster Brooks & Welch LLP at 905-641-1551.