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Bill 148 made significant amendments to Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000. Below we have provided a timeline outlining when the most significant changes will come into force.
Bill 148 made significant amendments to Ontario's
Employment Standards Act, 2000. Below we have provided a
timeline outlining when the most significant changes will come into
force. Please note that this is a summary only, and does not
contain all of the details relating to the amendments outlined
below.
Effective
Immediately
Misclassification: Employers are explicitly prohibited from
misclassifying employees as independent contractors, and bear the
onus of proving an individual is not an employee
Effective
December 3, 2017
Leaves of absence:
Parental leave: 61 weeks for employees who have taken a
pregnancy leave, 63 weeks for employees who have not
Critical illness leave: 37 weeks in a 52-week period (to care
for a critically ill minor child who is a family member), 17 weeks
in a 52-week period (to care or support to a critically ill adult
who is a family member
Effective
January 1, 2018
General minimum wage: $14.00 per hour.
Paid vacation: 3 weeks per year after 5 years of service
Public holiday pay (new formula for calculation): Calculation
to be based on number of days actually worked in the pay period
immediately preceding the public holiday
Overtime: Employees who work in more than one position for an
employer must be paid overtime calculated on the rate for the
position that they are working in during the overtime period
Temporary help agencies: Employee right to receive one week of
notice or pay in lieu if an assignment that was scheduled to last
longer than 3 months is terminated early, unless another assignment
of at least one week is offered to the employee
Leaves of absence:
Personal emergency leave: 10 days, the first 2 of which must be
paid
50-employee threshold eliminated
Employers prohibited from requiring a doctor's note for
this leave
Family medical leave: 28 weeks in a 52-week period
Pregnancy leave for still births/miscarriages: 12 weeks
Child death leave: 104 weeks following the death of a
child
Domestic or sexual violence leave: 10 days and 15 weeks in each
calendar year, the first five days of which must be paid
Effective April
1, 2018
Equal pay for equal work provisions, including:
Part-time, temporary and seasonal employees entitled to be paid
equally to full-time employees when performing "substantially
the same" job for the same employer
A distinction in rate of pay will only be permitted based on
(a) a seniority system, (b) a merit system, (c) quantity or quality
of production or (d) some other objective factor
Employee right to request that the employer review their wages
if they believe they are not receiving equal pay for equal
work
Employee protection from reprisal if they inquire about their
own wage rate or the wages paid to other employees
Effective
January 1, 2019
General minimum wage: $15.00 per hour
Scheduling provisions, including:
Employee right to request schedule or location changes
Employer obligation to discuss request with employee and either
grant request or provide reasons for denial
Employee right to refuse shift assignments if shift is assigned
on less than 96 hours' notice
Employee entitlement to "wages for three hours"
(which has a prescribed method of calculation) if:
the employee reports for work and works less than three
hours
the employee's shift is cancelled on less than 48
hours' notice, or
the employee is asked to be on call
Employer obligation to keep records of the dates and times
employees are scheduled to work or be on call, as well as any
changes to the schedule
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
