Labour & Employment

It is a basic principle of employment law in Ontario that employees terminated without cause are presumed to be entitled to common law reasonable notice of termination unless the parties clearly agreed to a different notice period, typically through a termination clause in an employment agre…

The legislation governing unionized workplaces in Ontario, the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the “LRA”) will be amended by the Ontario government if the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018 (“Bill 47”) passes in its current form.  Expected changes will include the following: Repeal of Un…

Many businesses that are provincially-regulated employers in Ontario have spent the better part of last year changing their workplace policies to ensure compliance with the labour reforms implemented by the Wynne government in the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act (“Bill 148”). However, such …

Premier Doug Ford was quoted yesterday (Tuesday October 2, 2018) in the legislature as saying, “We’re getting rid of Bill 148. We’re going to make sure we protect the front-line workers.” His Economic Development Minister Jim Wilson was quick to slow down the move, saying, “There are parts t…

On September 26, the government of Ontario announced that Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (“WSIB”) premium rates for employers will be reduced due to a steep reduction in the WSIB’s Insurance Fund’s unfunded liability. In the announcement, the provincial government stated that “the WSIB…

In a significant victory for employers engaged in construction work in federally-regulated sectors, the Divisional Court in Labourers’ International Union of North America, Ontario Provincial District Council v Ramkey Communications Inc [1] has overturned an Ontario Labour Relations Board (“…

Since the Ontario Liberal government amended the Workplace Safety Insurance Act (“WSIA”) in April, there has been some confusion about who bears the responsibility for workplace injuries to temporary agency workers: the agency, or its client employer. On April 6, 2018, the Liberals amended t…

As we wrote in January, recent changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) under Bill 148 included a new method for calculating Public Holiday Pay. However, after widespread criticism from employers, the Ontario government announced Monday that it would be conducting a review o…

In its flurry of pre-election legislation, the Ontario government has now passed the Pay Transparency Act, 2018 into law. As of January 1, 2019, employers will have new obligations and restrictions when hiring new employees. All employers will be: prohibited from asking a job applicant about…