On October 23, 2018, the Ontario government introduced Bill 47, entitled Making Ontario Open for Business Act, which would repeal various sections of the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 ("Bill 148") that introduced by the previous provincial government.
If Bill 47 passes, many of the amendments made to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the "ESA") under Bill 148 would be reversed. Below is a summary of the key provisions of the ESA that the Ontario government intends to repeal in the near future.
In addition to the amendments to the ESA that are summarized above, the government has stated that it intends to make various amendments to the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the "LRA"), including the following:
- repealing rules that required card-based certification on workers in home care, building services, and temporary help agencies. Instead, the workers will have the right to vote by secret ballot;
- repealing rules requiring an employer to disclose employee lists to a union;
- reinstating the previous test for remedial certification of a union;
- repealing the regulation-making authority to expand successor rights to contract tendering for publicly-funded services such as homecare;
- repealing provisions regarding the structure of bargaining units;
- reinstating a six-month limitation on an employee's right to reinstatement following the start of a strike or lock-out;
- repealing Bill 148 first collective agreement mediation and mediation-arbitration provisions and provisions for educational support; and
- decreasing fines for offences under the LRA from $5,000 to $2,000 for individuals, and from $100,000 to $25,000 for organizations.
Although the government has announced its intention to repeal several sections of Bill 148, there is still uncertainty surrounding the Making Ontario Open for Business Act. If you have questions regarding how the proposed changes to the employment law may affect your business, please contact:
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