November 26, 2018
On November 21, 2018, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018 (Bill 47) received Royal Assent and passed into law. This Bill repeals many amendments made under the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (Bill 148), which impacted the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and Ontario Labour Relations Act (LRA).
The majority of the changes to the ESA will come into effect on January 1, 2019, while most of the changes to the LRA are in effect as of November 21, 2018. Below are some highlights of important ESA and LRA changes meant to benefit small business and franchising.
Highlights of Key ESA Changes
The following ESA changes will come into force on January 1, 2019:
- Minimum Wage: freezing increase at $14/hour until 2020
- Scheduling: repealing a number of scheduling provisions
- Three Hour Rule: modifying and moving the existing three-hour rule to a new section of the ESA
- Personal Emergency Leave: a number of changes to Personal Emergency Leave reforms
- Public Holiday Pay: a return to the previous prorating public holiday pay formula
- Misclassification: repealing the requirement for the employer to prove that an individual is not an employee ("reverse onus") where there is a dispute over whether the individual is an employee
- Penalties for Contravention: returning to the previous administrative penalties for contraventions of the ESA
Highlights of Key LRA Changes
The following changes to the LRA came into force on November 21, 2018:
- Card-based Certification: repealing the rules that forced card-based certification on workers in home care, building services, and temporary help agencies
- Remedial Certification: reinstating pre-Bill 148 test and preconditions for the Ontario Labour Review Board (OLRB) to certify a union as a remedy for employer misconduct
- Employee Lists: repealing rules that forced employers to hand over employee personal information to a union if only 20% of workers showed interest in joining a union
- Successor Rights: repealing the regulation-making authority to expand successor rights to contract tendering for publicly-funded services such as homecare
- Structure of Bargaining Units: repealing the power of the OLRB to review and consolidate newly certified bargaining units with existing bargaining units
- Return-to-work Rights: returning to the six-month limitation on an employee’s right to reinstate following the start of a strike or lock-out
- Fines: returning to the previous maximum fines for offences under the LRA
View full details on Bill 47 changes to the ESA and LRA here.
After years of consultation and voicing the concerns of the franchise community and the broader business community to government on Bill 147, the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) applauds the Ontario government’s commitment to creating an environment where business can thrive. We look forward to continuing working with the government on fostering a hospitable economic and regulatory environment that allows franchising to prosper and grow in Canada.
We encourage all CFA members to review their policies and procedures to ensure that they are consistent with the framework of Bill 47. The full text of Bill 47 can be found here.
