We’re pleased to share our highlights video from our February 28th seminar in which we reviewed key changes under Ontario’s Bill 148 and provided practical guidance to assist employers in meeting the new legislative requirements. To view the video, click here.
Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, recently hosted its Solving Workplace Challenges 2018 conference and followed up with a full page article featuring insights from Chris Burkett’s panel discussion on pressing topics in employment law. See the excerpt below or access the complete article here.
Continue Reading Cannabis@Work – The Globe and Mail features Baker McKenzie Partner, Chris Burkett
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
The Ontario government has announced that it will introduce legislation, The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, in the coming days to reform the province’s employment standards legislation. The announcement follows last week’s release of the Changing Workplaces Review Final Report which contained a myriad of recommendations for reforms to benefit employees.[1]
The key changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) that the government has indicated will be included in the proposed legislation are summarized below.
Continue Reading Ontario Responds Quickly to Strengthen ESA
In the recent decision of Covenoho v. Pendylum Ltd., 2017 ONCA 284, the Ontario Court of Appeal put an end to any debate about the enforceability of termination provisions in employment agreements that may violate minimum employment standards legislation in the future. The takeaway for employers from the case is as simple as it is noteworthy: a termination provision that breaches minimum employment standards legislation in the future – even if compliant at the time of the employee’s termination from employment – is void and therefore will not be enforced.
Continue Reading Into the Void: Potential Future Violations of ESA Sufficient to Set Aside Employment Contract
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
On July 27, 2016, an Ontario court certified a class action against Just Energy, a natural gas and electricity retailer, in which 7,000 of its sales agents claimed they were misclassified as independent contractors.
The case, Omarali v. Just Energy, is the first of its kind to be certified in Canada. If the sales agents are successful, the company could face large liabilities relating to unpaid wages (including overtime, vacation and public holiday pay) and unremitted income taxes and other required deductions.
Continue Reading First in Class: Independent Contractor Class Action Certified in Canada
Canadian businesses with operations in the United States should be aware that the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently unveiled its amended proposal to collect summary pay data from employers with 100 or more employees. Under the proposed amendments, employers who already file an Employer Information Report (EEO-1) will be required to also report
Since the highly anticipated overtime rule was announced on May 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s changes have been top of mind for Canadian businesses with operations in the U.S., and our clients have reached out to us with a number of questions regarding the Final Rule’s impact on their organizations. In this podcast,
Starting June 10, 2016, Ontario employees have increased protection regarding the tips and gratuities left by customers. As we discussed in a previous post, Bill 12 amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) to prohibit employers from withholding, making deductions from, or collecting tips or other gratuities from employees, unless authorized to do so under the ESA.
Continue Reading Keep the Change! New “Tips” Legislation Coming Into Force
