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On April 3, 2019, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2019  (Bill 66) received Royal Assent. Bill 66 amends several pieces of legislation in Ontario. The government has stated that the changes are intended to “lower business costs to make Ontario more competitive” and to “harmonize regulatory requirements with other jurisdictions, end duplication and reduce barriers to investment.”…
Continue Reading Hot Off the Press: Bill 66 Ushers in More Changes for Ontario Employers

This is part two in our series on recent Ontario Superior Court decisions that employers should be aware of before finalizing future employment agreements. See here for our first part, on the recent trend of lengthy notice period awards for long service employees of advanced age.

As most employers know, unenforceable termination clauses often give rise to costly wrongful dismissal claims. Yet the case law in this area is constantly evolving, and it is increasingly challenging to stay abreast of what a court will consider to be enforceable.
Continue Reading Defining “Cause” in a Termination Provision: Mind Your Language!

Overtime class actions are in the headlines again. On February 22, 2019, a class action claim seeking damages of over $100 million was filed against Flight Centre, an Australia-based travel services provider with stores in Canada and internationally. The claim alleges that Flight Centre systematically failed to pay overtime to its retail sales employees, referred to as “travel consultants”, requiring them to consistently work more than their scheduled hours, and implemented policies that fail to comply with the overtime entitlements under employment standards legislation.
Continue Reading Back in Class: Overtime Pay Class Action Brought Against Global Travel Retailer

Although brevity is almost always better than wordiness, it would have been better if the legislature had used a few more words in the severance pay provisions of Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000. Under the ESA, employers with a payroll of at least $2.5 million are required to provide statutory severance pay when dismissing an employee with 5 or more years of service. Unfortunately the provision is silent as to whether payroll within Ontario or, rather, global payroll is determinative. It would have been helpful if the drafters had indicated where, exactly, to draw the line.

The pendulum has swung back and forth on this issue. Most recently, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) held that Ontario-only payroll is determinative, diverging from the direction previously taken by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. We outline the key cases to date below.
Continue Reading Statutory Severance Pay: Ontario Labour Relations Board Decides $2.5M Threshold Does NOT Include Payroll Outside Ontario

We’re pleased to share a recent Canadian HR Reporter article, “Bill 66 could have ‘pretty profound’ impact on Ontario employers“, with insight from Andrew Shaw. If passed, Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, will amend Ontario’s employment standards, labour relations and pension benefits statutes, among other legislation, to cut business costs…

We’re pleased to share Baker McKenzie’s US Employment & Compensation Law Digest 2018/2019. The Digest outlines recent developments in US law relevant to employers and provides insight on global trends in gender pay, #MeToo, business change, and the modern workforce. In short, it’s an invaluable resource for Canadian companies with operations in the US

On December 13, 2018, Bill C-86, the Budget Implementation Act, 2018  received Royal Assent. Bill C-86 has a wide ambit given that it primarily implements the February 2018 federal budget plan. Among other things, Bill C-86 makes numerous amendments aimed at “modernizing” the labour standards in the Canada Labour Code (“CLC”). To help federally regulated employers navigate the many changes to the labour standards, we have outlined the key changes to be aware of and what to do about them.
Continue Reading “Modernized” Federal Labour Standards: Key Changes & What to Do About Them

The Ontario government introduced Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act  (“Bill 66”) on December 6, 2018. If passed, Bill 66 will make amendments to several pieces of legislation in Ontario. The government has stated that its objective in introducing these changes is to “lower business costs to make Ontario more competitive” and to “harmonize regulatory requirements with other jurisdictions, end duplication and reduce barriers to investment.” We outline below the proposed changes to the province’s labour and employment legislation below.
Continue Reading Ontario’s War on “Red Tape” Continues: PC’s Table Bill 66

On November 21, 2018, Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018  (“Bill 47”), passed Third Reading and received Royal Assent. Bill 47 repeals or rewrites numerous provisions of the previous government’s Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017  (“Bill 148”). To help employers navigate and prepare for the many changes under Bill 47, we have summarized the key changes and what is left intact.
Continue Reading Ontario’s Bill 47 Gets Green Light

We’re pleased to share Jordan Kirkness’s article, here, on the impact to employers of Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act. The article was published in today’s edition of the Globe and Mail.

If it comes into effect in its current form, Bill 47 will reverse most of Bill 148 (the previous…