Labour & Employment

On September 26, the government of Ontario announced that Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (“WSIB”) premium rates for employers will be reduced due to a steep reduction in the WSIB’s Insurance Fund’s unfunded liability. In the announcement, the provincial government stated that “the WSIB…

In a significant victory for employers engaged in construction work in federally-regulated sectors, the Divisional Court in Labourers’ International Union of North America, Ontario Provincial District Council v Ramkey Communications Inc [1] has overturned an Ontario Labour Relations Board (“…

Since the Ontario Liberal government amended the Workplace Safety Insurance Act (“WSIA”) in April, there has been some confusion about who bears the responsibility for workplace injuries to temporary agency workers: the agency, or its client employer. On April 6, 2018, the Liberals amended t…

As we wrote in January, recent changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) under Bill 148 included a new method for calculating Public Holiday Pay. However, after widespread criticism from employers, the Ontario government announced Monday that it would be conducting a review o…

In its flurry of pre-election legislation, the Ontario government has now passed the Pay Transparency Act, 2018 into law. As of January 1, 2019, employers will have new obligations and restrictions when hiring new employees. All employers will be: prohibited from asking a job applicant about…

In yet another “time for a change” speech, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced last week that the government will take steps to close the wage gap between men and women. The gender-based wage gap has been stagnant for over a decade at about 30% – usually expressed as women earning…

In March 2017, the federal government announced its intention to extend employment insurance parental benefits to 18 months. This change took effect on December 3, 2017. While many Canadian employers are not thrilled with this change, it’s not all bad news. Same Total Maximum EI Benefits Par…

Employers need some good news these days, with rising minimum wages, employee-friendly changes to many employment standards, and let’s not even mention the stock market. So I’m happy to share the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Nemeth v. Hatch Ltd. in which a very simple terminati…

Two sisters from Inuvik Native Bands were employed by White Tornado Cleaning Services, owned by Rhonda Sallows. Their employment ended when they both quit, in response to allegedly being yelled at repeatedly by Ms. Sallows. Ms. Sallows subsequently told the sisters that she was decreasing th…