On June 1, 2017, the provincial government introduced Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017. Bill 148 proposes, for the first time in over two decades, to make significant reforms to both the Employment Standards Act and the Labour Relations Act. It is widely expected that Bill 148 will swiftly be enacted, particularly given that it comes after a lengthy public review and that it proposes many well publicized changes to take effect January 1, 2018.
If Bill 148 does come into force, it will substantially alter the legal landscape for workplaces. For example, Bill 148 would increase employers’ labour costs, with increases to the minimum wage, additional vacation pay obligations, and part-time employee pay equity obligations. Further, Bill 148 would expose employers to prosecutions and penalties where they have mislabelled employees as contractors. In addition, Bill 148 would restrict employers’ scheduling practices. Bill 148 will also greatly increase the unions’ ability to organize, certify new bargaining units, and extend current bargaining units.
During this webinar, we will review the key proposed changes and discuss the best strategies to put into place to be ready.