On June 1, 2022, the Québec National Assembly passed Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, introducing significant changes to the Charter of the French Language and other laws. The Bill aims to reinforce the use of French in business, services, communications, education, and the workplace by

On November 15, 2018, the Ontario government introduced legislation to, among other things, delay the January 1, 2019 in force date of the Pay Transparency Act, 2018  (“Act”). Bill 57, Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act, 2018, is omnibus legislation to enact, amend and repeal various statutes and is currently at the Second Reading stage.
Continue Reading Ontario Proposes Delay & Rethinking of Pay Transparency Act

We recently wrote about the Ontario government’s proposed changes to the province’s employment standards and labour relations legislation – see our blog posts here and here. On June 1, 2017, the Minister of Labour, the Honourable Kevin Flynn, introduced legislation to affect these changes.
Continue Reading Early Approval Across Party Lines for ESA & LRA Amending Legislation

Earlier this year, we wrote about the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) publication of the Final Rule, which significantly increased the minimum salary an employee must earn to qualify for the “white collar” exemption and the highly compensated employee exemption under federal law (see our blog post here). However, on November 22, 2016, a 

Canadian businesses with operations in the United States should be aware of recent and significant changes to the overtime rules. Yesterday, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published the long-awaited amendments to the “white collar” exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional employees, as well as the provision governing highly-compensated employees.  The Final Rule significantly increases the minimum salary an employee must earn to qualify for a white collar exemption and for the highly compensated employee exemption under federal law.  The increased minimum salary must be implemented by December 1, 2016, which gives employers approximately 200 days to prepare for and comply with the Final Rule.
Continue Reading US Department of Labor Publishes Final Overtime Rules

On July 16, 2014, the Ontario Government introduced  Bill 18, Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act, 2014.  The Bill proposes changes that would (among other things) remove existing limits on unpaid wage claims, make temporary help agencies and their clients jointly liable for unpaid wages, and impose automatic adjustments to minimum wage based on the Consumer Price Index.
Continue Reading Six Changes to Ontario Employment Legislation Proposed

The Ontario Legislature has proposed changes (Bills 159 and 146) to the statutory obligations of both temporary help agencies (“Agencies”) and their clients (“Employers”).  These changes would increase protection for temporary employees, including an “agency cut maximum” and a cap on the percentage of temporary employees that can be used by an Employer.  In particular:

  • Agencies would be required to pay their temporary employees at least 80% of the amount they charge clients for services performed by a given temporary employee.
  • Employers would have to ensure that the total hours worked by temporary employees in a work week do not exceed 25% of the total hours worked by all employees.

Continue Reading Ontario Proposes Changes to Employment Standards for Temporary Help Agency Employees