On Nov. 27, 2024, the Ontario government announced it will introduce yet another edition of the "working for workers" laws.
The blandly named Working for Workers Six Act, 2024 purports to build on the previous five acts with proposed measures to "support the safety and wellbeing of workers and their families, grow Ontario's workforce, and keep costs down for workers and businesses."
Amongst other changes, the government's press release lists the following:
Employment standards
- According to the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, the government's mission is to "ensure Ontario continues to be the very best place to live, work, and raise a family", which means "making sure Ontarians never have to choose between being a worker or a parent, and that if a worker gets sick with a critical illness they can take the time to recover without worrying about their job."
- A 16-week job-protected parental leave for adoption and surrogacy. This leave would allow adoptive parents and parents through surrogacy to ensure they have time to meet the demanding requirements of the adoption or surrogacy process, without the risk of losing their job.
- A 27-week job-protected illness leave for employees unable to work due to a serious medical condition as defined by a medical practitioner. If passed, the government claims this would be one of the longest provincial leaves in Canada (though this would not, of course, change an employer's ongoing duty to accommodate disability under human rights laws).
- New requirements related to job vacancy, responses to interviewees, Canadian experience, compensation in job postings, use of AI in recruitment and information for new employees. While the text of this latest bill is not yet available, much of these items appear to overlap with the prior "working for workers" laws.
Occupational health and safety
- Mandatory minimum fines of $500,000 for corporations convicted of repeat offences under the Occupational Health and Safety Act within a two-year period that resulted in the death or serious injury of one or more workers.
- Funds for health and safety programs developed by the WSIB focusing on mental health, preventative and chronic injury care and recovery, including expanding the WSIB's mental health care programming.
- A new "Safe Business Bonus" for eligible employers who create a new workplace health and safety action plan approved through the WSIB's Health and Safety Excellence program.
- Requiring properly-fitting personal protective equipment for women and all workers with diverse body shapes.
- A regulation for washroom cleaning records.
- Expanding Chief Prevention Officer (CPO) powers.
- Reducing the average WSIB premium rate from $1.30 to $1.25 per $100 of insurable payroll starting in 2025, without reducing benefits.
Immigration and workforce growth
- Training for over one million workers through Ontario's Skills Development Fund (SDF).
- Expanding immigration pathways for self-employed physicians using the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).
- Reducing the time limit for assessing international applicants in regulated professions from six to three months.
- Creating alternate criteria for apprenticeship registration.
Further changes ahead
The Ontario Legislature also has recently tabled two other bills that, if passed, will apply to Ontario workers:
- The Day of Reflection for Indian Residential Schools Act, 2024 (Bill 221) will proclaim Sept. 30 in each year as the "Day of Reflection for Indian Residential Schools" and designate this day as a public holiday under the ESA.
- The Heat Stress Act, 2024 (Bill 222) amends the OHSA to require the Minister implement a Worker Heat Protection Standard. Employers must also ensure employees receive heat stress training and compensation for any period required under the Standard, such rest periods and training.
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