December 29, 2017

New Regulations Concerning Bill 148

As previously reported in our earlier In A Flash article, Bill 148 received Royal Assent on November 27, 2017.  The Bill contains sweeping changes to a number of provisions in the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”), including those concerning leaves of absence, holidays, and scheduling.  On December 18, 2017, several amendments were made to two regulations under the ESA.  These new regulations modify the effects of Bill 148 with respect to certain groups of employees.  These regulations will only affect employees in certain industries; namely, the construction, automobile, and recorded visual / audio-visual entertainment (“audio-visual”) industries. However, they could significantly affect how Bill 148 applies to these industries.
Employers in the above-noted industries will have to take a close look at the existing entitlements of their employees under employment contracts or collective agreements, as these new regulations may serve to limit the impact of Bill 148 on their employees.
Some of the most notable amendments for employers arising from the two new regulations are available in a summarized PDF here.
If you have any questions regarding the impact of any upcoming changes to Ontario’s workplace laws, or steps you can take to reduce their impact, please do not hesitate to contact a Mathews Dinsdale lawyer.
Click here for downloadable version.