The provincial government is acting quickly to implement the recommendations of the Changing Workplaces Review.
Join Minister Flynn on June 20 at the Ontario Employment Law Conference to hear about the newly tabled The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act and the Ontario government’s other plans for the 173 recommendations from the Changing Workplaces Review final report. This special luncheon presentation will be followed by a short question and answer period for conference attendees.
About Bill 148, The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017
Proposed by the provincial government on June 1, 2017, Bill 148 aims to make significant amendments to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act and Labour Relations Act. If enacted, some of the legislative changes include:
- Raising Ontario’s general minimum wage to $14 on January 1, 2018, and then $15 on January 1, 2019
- Equal pay for part-time, casual, temporary and seasonal employees performing comparable work to full-time employees
- All employers providing employees with 10 days of personal emergency leave per year, including a minimum of two paid days (currently required only by employers with 50+ employees)
- Increases to compassionate care leaves
- Ensuring employees receive at least three weeks’ vacation after five years with the same employer
- New rules, guidelines and penalties for the misclassification of employees
- Updating hours of work and overtime requirements
- Requiring employers to pay an employee for three hours of work if their shift is cancelled within 48 hours of its scheduled start time.
- Modernizing the rules for creating a union in the workplace, making the union certification process easier
- Providing bargaining rights to numerous groups that are currently exempt from the Labour Relations Act, such as temporary-help agencies, building services and home-care and community services
Next steps for workplaces
At this point, employers should start to understand and learn about the potential changes to employment and labour laws.
Employers may also want to begin the process of modifying their HR policies and workplace practices soon. If Bill 148 passes as expected, many of the legislative changes to employment standards will come into force on January 1, 2018, while legislative changes to labour relations will come into effect six months after the Act comes into force.
Hear all about it, directly from Minister Flynn himself
Don’t miss out on this special opportunity to hear about the government’s initial response to the Changing Workplaces Review from the Ontario Minister of Labour in person. Register today to Learn the Latest® at the 2017 Ontario Employment Law Conference so you can be prepared when the government moves forward with these recommendations.
You can see the full agenda for the conference here.
Fred Stewart
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