Ontario is introducing new legislation – Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act – to protect the province’s most vulnerable workers, and increase fairness for employees and businesses.
Under the Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act, the Ontario government proposes legislative changes:
- Eliminate the $10,000 cap on the recovery of unpaid wages
- Increase the time limit for recovery of wages to two years for employees
- Make temporary help agencies and their clients liable for any employment standards violations
- Prohibit employers from charging fees and seizing personal documents from workers
- Extend the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act to cover all foreign employees who come to Ontario
- Amend the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act to assign workplace injury costs to temporary help agency clients when an employee is injured at work
- Extend coverage under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to include co-op students, trainees, and other unpaid learners.
The Ontario government will increase the number of enforcement officers across the province to ensure more workplaces can be inspected.
For more details, visit the Ontario Ministry of Labour.