The Ontario government has now confirmed that the Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act, 2022 ("Act")1 will come into force on July 1, 2025along with O. Reg 344/24,2 a related regulation under the Act, following recent changes to British Columbia law.
The Actwas first introduced under Bill 88, the Working for Workers Act, 2022.3 The Actwill apply to any worker who performs "digital platform work," which is the provision of paid ride share, delivery, courier or other prescribed services by workers who are offered work assignments through the use of a digital platform.
The Act creates new obligations for digital platform operations and new rights for workers who accept work through a digital platform, including the
- right to be informed, within 24 hours of receiving access to
the digital platform, of
- how pay for digital platform work is calculated;
- how tips and other gratuities are collected;
- recurring pay period and pay days as established by the operator;
- factors used to determine whether work assignments are offered to workers and a description of how those factors are applied; and
- any information on a performance rating system, if applicable.
- right to minimum wage;
- right to amounts earned and tips and other gratuities;
- right to notice of removal from digital platform; and
- right to resolve digital platform work-related disputes in Ontario;
The Actalso imposes additional obligations on an "operator," being the person who facilitates the performance of digital platform work by workers. These additional obligations include
- providing a written explanation as to why access was removed and, if access is removed for a period of 24 hours or longer, providing two weeks' written notice of the removal
- maintaining a record of each worker who accesses the operator's digital platform for the purpose of accepting or declining to perform digital platform work. These records may be subject to inspection by a compliance officer;
- establishing a recurring pay period and pay day; and
- not deducting or withholding amounts earned by a worker unless authorized under the Act.
British Columbia ("BC") also recently introduced amendments to the BC Employment Standards Act and Workers Compensation Act aimed at delivering "better working conditions with new protections, including basic employment standards, for app-based ride hailing and food-delivery gig workers". The amendments recently came into force on September 3, 2025. The notable distinction between the recent BC amendments and the Actin Ontario is that gig workers in Ontario are not "employees," whereas in BC, "online platform worker" are now deemed to be "employees."
Key Takeaway for Employers
As Canadians continue to engage in the gig economy, there is increased pressure on the government to implement regulatory measures. If an organization or employer qualifies as an "operator" under the Act, it is advisable to become familiar with its obligations prior to its coming into force.
For more information on the Digital Platform for Workers Act, please refer to our previous blog post from earlier this year.4
We will continue to monitor and report on legislative amendments to the Actas they arise.
Footnotes
1 Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act, 2022, S.O. 2022, c. 7, Sched. 1
3 Read more about the introduction of the Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act, 2022 here: Ontario's Working for Workers Act, 2022 Now in Force | Knowledge | Fasken
4 Delivery Waiting: Regulating Employment in the Gig Economy | Knowledge | Fasken
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