December 15, 2017
Bill 148 changes Ontario’s employment landscape
The Ontario Legislature has passed far-reaching legislation, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act (Bill 148), that will affect every LO member. Its most widely-publicized provision mandates increases to Ontario’s minimum wage: to $14 per hour on Jan. 1, 2018 and then $15 per hour in 2019.
The Act equalizes pay rates for part-time, temporary, casual and seasonal employees doing the same work as full-time employees. It expands personal emergency leave to 10 days per calendar year, and bans employers from requiring doctor’s notes for emergency leave. It also requires employers to pay employees for three hours of work if their shift was cancelled within 48 hours of its scheduled time.
The province plans to enforce the new measures seriously; it will hire 175 additional employment standards officers and is launching education programs on rights and obligations targeted to both employees and employers.
The Act equalizes pay rates for part-time, temporary, casual and seasonal employees doing the same work as full-time employees. It expands personal emergency leave to 10 days per calendar year, and bans employers from requiring doctor’s notes for emergency leave. It also requires employers to pay employees for three hours of work if their shift was cancelled within 48 hours of its scheduled time.
The province plans to enforce the new measures seriously; it will hire 175 additional employment standards officers and is launching education programs on rights and obligations targeted to both employees and employers.