The general minimum wage in British Columbia was raised to $12.65 per hour on June 1, 2018. Barring legislative changes, minimum wages will increase again on June 1, 2019 ($13.85 per hour), June 1, 2020 ($14.60 per hour), and June 1, 2021 ($15.20 per hour)
Jul
27
2018
Canada: Ontario Proclaims the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015
The Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015, which will introduce significant changes to the processing of criminal checks in the province of Ontario, and how the results of such checks may or may not be disclosed to employers, will come into force on November 1, 2018
Jul
27
2018
Canada: Ontario Court of Appeal finds bonus is part of notice entitlement notwithstanding employee’s knowledge of employer policy to the contrary
The Ontario Court of Appeal has held that an employer may not deny payment of a bonus during the notice period unless the company policy of not paying the bonus is clearly expressed in a document governing the bonus payment scheme
Jun
26
2018
Canada – Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti Webinar – “Labour and Employment Challenges for the Small Business” – Date: June 27, 2018 – 8:00-9:30 EST
On Wednesday, June 27, 2018 from 8:00-9:30 EST, FWTA will host Labour and Employment Challenges for the Small Business, a free webinar that will review the practical challenges small businesses face with respect to common Canadian employment and labour issues. We will review the impact that recent changes in employment legislation is having on small […]
Jun
26
2018
Canada: Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario finds Human Rights Code section allowing employers to exclude employees over 65 years of age from certain benefits unconstitutional
In a ground-breaking decision, with the potential to affect both unionized and non-unionized workplaces, the Tribunal recently determined that a school board could not rely on section 25(2.1) of the Human Rights Code (the “Code”) to justify the blanket exclusion of employees over 65 years of age from extended health, dental and life insurance benefits.
Jun
26
2018
Canada: Ontario Legislates Pay Transparency through the Pay Transparency Act, 2018
Ontario has become the first province in Canada to legislate pay transparency through the Pay Transparency Act, 2018 (the “Act”), which will come into force on January 1, 2019. The purpose of this legislation is to promote gender equality and equal opportunity in employment in the workplace, and to eliminate gender and other biases in pay practices. Pursuant to the Act, employers will be prohibited from seeking compensation history information from job applicants, and will be required to provide information regarding compensation for any position being advertised in public job postings. Employers will also be required to prepare “pay transparency reports” for submission to the Ministry of Labour.
Jun
26
2018
Canada: The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruled that employees do not have an absolute right to smoke marijuana in the workplace
A recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Aitchison v L&L Painting and Decorating Ltd, 2018 HRTO 238, confirmed that employees do not have an absolute right to smoke marijuana, medical or otherwise, in the workplace. The Tribunal held that the employer’s “zero tolerance” policy was not discriminatory, as it did not impose automatic termination of employment for violations of the policy. Employers are advised to revisit drug and alcohol policies to ensure that any “zero tolerance” type polices do not lead to automatic termination of employment without any flexibility with respect to requests for accommodation. Further, in light of the pending legalization of recreational marijuana use in Ontario, such policies should be amended to contemplate recreational use of legal substances.
May
30
2018
Canada – Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti Webinar – “Pulling Over and Testing Ourselves: Assessing Employer Compliance with the Law on Substance Use in the Workplace” – Date: May 30, 2018 – 8:00-9:30 EST
A free webinar that will review the state of the law on drug and alcohol testing and offer practical insights regarding auditing and effective implementation of related policies and programs.
May
30
2018
Canada: Ontario Introduces New Government Contract Wages Act, 2018
On April 17, 2018, the Ontario government introduced Bill 53, the Government Contract Wages Act, 2018. Bill 53 came into force on May 8, 2018. Bill 53 aims to implement minimum wages for building cleaning, security services work provided for government-owned and occupied buildings, and for some construction work performed under contract with government entities.
May
30
2018
Canada: Ontario reverting to earlier public holiday pay calculation formula on July 1, 2018
Effective January 1, 2018, several amendments were made to the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”), including a revised public holiday pay formula. Following the amendments, an employee’s entitlement to public holiday pay must be calculated as follows: the total amount of regular wages that the employee earned in the pay period immediately before the public holiday divided by the number of days that the employee worked in the pay period immediately before the public holiday.
The change to the public holiday pay formula was not well received by all affected parties. On May 7, 2018, the Ontario Government announced that the public holiday pay formula will revert to that which existed prior to the amendments, effective July 1, 2018.
These articles on Canadian labour and employment law matters have been authored courtesy of the following Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti (L&E Global Canada) attorneys: Giovanna Di Sauro, Associate, gdisauro@filion.on.ca; Laura Freitag, Associate, lfreitag@filion.on.ca; and Cassandra Ma, Associate, cma@filion.on.ca.For more information on these articles or any other issues involving labour and employment matters in Canada, please contact Robert Bayne, Partner at Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti (www.filion.on.ca) at rbayne@