The Ontario Government has introduced Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018, which seeks to repeal many of Bill 148’s changes. If Bill 47 is passed, there will be the following changes:
Employment Standards Act, 2000
Minimum Wage
- The minimum wage will remain at $14.00 – it will not increase to $15.00 on January 1, 2019.
- Annual adjustments to minimum wage tied with inflation would restart on October 1, 2020
Scheduling
Scheduling provisions repealed:
- Requests for changes to schedule or work location by an employee has been employed for at least 3 months
- Minimum 3 hours of pay for being on-call
- Right to Refuse – employee able to refuse request to work or be on-call where the employee was not scheduled with less than 96 hours’ notice
- 3 hours of pay where a scheduled or on-call shift is canceled within 48 hours before the shift was to begin
- Record-keeping requirements related to these scheduling provisions
Misclassification
- Onus on worker to establish that they are an “employee”
Equal Pay for Equal Work
- No entitlement to equal pay for equal work based on “difference in employment status” – part-time v full-time, or temporary v indefinite.
- Related equal pay provisions for temporary help agency employees repealed
Personal Emergency Leave
- Repealed and replaced with three new unpaid leaves for employees employed for at least two consecutive weeks: Sick Leave, Family Responsibility Leave, and Bereavement Leave
- Sick Leave – 3 days
- Employer is able to request evidence reasonable in the circumstances, which can include a Doctor’s Note
- Family Responsibility Leave – 3 days
- Bereavement Leave – 2 days
- Sick Leave – 3 days
Public Holiday Pay
- Replaced with prior prorating public holiday pay formula – calculated based on total amount of regular wages earned and vacation pay payable to the employee in the 4 weeks prior to the work week in which the public holiday occurred, divided by 20.
Labour Relations Act, 1995
- No Card-based certification in the building services industry, the home care and community services industry or for temporary help agencies
- No rule to require an employer to hand over their employees’ personal information to a union
- Six-month limitation restored for an employee to seek reinstatement after the start of a strike or lock-out.
Employment Standards Act, 2000 provisions in Bill 148 Not Repealed
- Prior minimum wage increases
- Paid leave for domestic or sexual violence
- 3 weeks’ vacation time and six per cent vacation pay, for employees with 5 years or more of service