1. Bill 148: A plan for fair workplaces and better jobs
Presenters:
Suzanne Beatty, Executive Director (GB Cancer Support Centre)
Dale Lediard, Lawyer (Lediard Law)
Brad Fisher, VP Finance & Admin. (Baytech)

2. PURPOSE:
to create more opportunity and security for workers in this changing economy, the Ontario Liberal Party introduced the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, It was passed on November 22, 2017.

3. MAJOR CHANGES Increase to Minimum Wage
Equal pay for Causal, Part-time, Temporary & Seasonal Employees
Vacation Entitlement Increase
Scheduling Changes
Personal Emergency Leave
Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave
Family Medical Leave
Critical Illness Leave
Crime-related Child Death or Disappearance Leave
Pregnancy & Parental Leave
Employee Misclassification
Public Holiday Pay

4. 1. Minimum Wage Increase
• On Jan. 1, 2018, the general minimum wage rose to $14 and the following special minimum wages took effect:
o Students under 18 - $13.15/hour
o Liquor Servers (who regularly receive tips) – $12.20/hour
o Hunting and Fishing Guides
Working under 5 consecutive hours – $70/day
Working 5 or more hours – $140/day
o Homeworkers
110% of general minimum wage – $15.40/hour

5. Minimum Wage Increase
On Jan. 1, 2019, the general minimum wage rises to $15, the following special minimum wages will take effect:
o Students under 18 – $14.10/hour
o Liquor Servers (who regularly receive tips) – $13.05/hour
o Hunting and Fishing Guides
Working under 5 consecutive hours – $75/day
Working 5 or more hours – $150/day
o Homeworkers
110% of general minimum wage – $16.50/hour
• Yearly increases to minimum wage resume in October of 2019.

6. 2. Equal pay for casual, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees
What’s changing
It will be mandatory for employers to pay:
casual, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees, who are doing substantially the same work as full-time/permanent employees, the same rate of pay as full-time/permanent employees

7. Equal pay for casual, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees
Employees can ask their employer to review their rate of pay if they believe they’re not receiving the same rate of pay as full-time/permanent employees who perform substantially the same work.
The employer will have to respond by either adjusting the employee’s pay or giving the employee a written explanation.
Exceptions

8. Equal pay for casual, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees
Wage difference are ok if the difference is based on:
a seniority or merit system
systems that measure earnings by quantity or quality of production
other factors (sex and employment status will not qualify as an exception)
Comes into effect April 1, 2018.

9. Equal pay for casual, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees
How can you Prepare
Review current pay scales and employee salaries
Develop a seniority or merit system or other policies to justify differences in pay

10. 3. Vacation Entitlement What’s changed
Employees are now entitled to three weeks of paid vacation after five years with the same employer.
Comes into effect January 1, 2018.
How can you Prepare
Develop or update vacation policies
Review current vacation entitlements

11. 4. Scheduling Changes What’s changing
Employees of at least 3 months may:
request a schedule or location change, without being penalized
refuse shifts if given less than 96 hours’ notice, unless it is to deal with an emergency, remedy or reduce a threat to public safety, or ensure the continued delivery of essential public services,
Employers will also be required to pay wages to the employees for three hours of work if the employee:
regularly works more than three hours a day, shows up for work and works less than three hours or not at all
the shift is cancelled within 48 hours of their scheduled start time,
is on-call but not called in to work or works less than three hours.

12. Scheduling Changes Exceptions
Employers will not be required to pay for a cancelled or short shift if they were unable to provide work because of:
fire, lightning, power failure, storms or similar causes beyond their control or
the employee’s work is weather-dependent and the employer is unable to provide work for weather-related reasons
Employers will not be required to pay wages for three hours for an on-call shift if the employee is on call to ensure the continued delivery of essential public services and the employee was not required to work.

13. Scheduling Changes
These scheduling changes will come into effect on January 1, 2019.
How can you Prepare
Develop fair policies and procedures with respect to the handling of schedule & location change requests
Develop or update on-call policies and procedures

14. 5. Personal Emergency Leave
What’s changed
The legislation now requires all employers to give all employees who have worked at least 1 week, 10 personal emergency leave days per year, including two paid days.
Available in case of death, illness, injury or medical emergency of oneself or a family member.
Employers can ask for evidence to support the leave, but cannot mandate a “certificate” from a qualified health practitioner.
Comes into effect January 1, 2018.
How can you Prepare?
Develop or update Emergency Leave policies and procedures.
Clearly communicate the purpose of the leave and employer expectations
Track leave usage.

15. 6. Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave
What’s changed
An employee who has been employed for at least 13 consecutive weeks is now up to 15 weeks of leave if the employee or their child experiences domestic or sexual violence or the threat of domestic or sexual violence. The first five days of leave, each calendar year, will be paid, the rest will be unpaid.
This is in addition to the 10 Personal Emergency Leave days
The new legislation requires employers to put mechanisms in place to protect the confidentiality of records they receive or produce in relation to an employee taking domestic or sexual violence leave.
Comes into effect January 1, 2018.
How can you Prepare?
Develop policies & procedures for the proper handling of these types of requests.
Ensure mechanisms are in place to protect the confidentiality of records.

16. 7. Family Medical Leave What’s changed
Family Medical Leave increases from up to 8 weeks in a 26 week period to up to 28 weeks in a 52 week period.
A certificate is necessary to take Family Medical Leave, stating that the family member has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks.
A qualified medical practitioner who may issue a certificate necessary to take family medical Leave is now a physician or a nurse practitioner.

17. 8. Critical Illness Leave
What’s changed
Formerly, Ontario offered up to 37 weeks unpaid leave for a parent to provide care or support to their critically ill child. The new legislation renames this section ‘Critical illness leave’ and expands it to include a new leave that allows 17 weeks of leave for an employee to provide care or support to a critically ill adult family member.
It also expands the list of family members for whom an employee could take the leave to include critically ill children of other family members.
The employee must be employed at least 6 months.

18. Crime-related Child Death or
Disappearance Leave
What’s changed
Formerly, Ontario offered up to 104 weeks unpaid leave for a crime-related death of a child and up to 52 weeks leave for the crime-related disappearance of a child. The new legislation extends this leave of absence to all child deaths, regardless of the reason, and it extends the available duration of the crime-related disappearance of a child leave to 104 weeks.
The employee must be employed at least 6 months.

19. 10. Pregnancy & Parental Leave
What’s changed
Pregnancy leave:
The entitlement to a six week extension of pregnancy leave in certain circumstances, where the employee has a miscarriage or still-birth, is increased to 12 weeks.
Parental leave:
The entitlement to parental leave is increased from 35 weeks to 61 weeks for employees who take pregnancy leave, and from 37 weeks to 63 weeks otherwise to align with changes to Employment Insurance benefits.

20. 11. Employee Misclassification
What’s changed
Employers cannot misclassify employees as independent contractors.
Comes into effect November 27, 2017.
How can you Prepare?
Review relationships with “Independent Contractors”
Enter into new agreement (Dependent Contractor/Employee)

21. 12. Public Holiday Pay Total Amount of Regular Wages Earned
What’s changed
Holiday pay will now be based off the pay period immediately preceding the holiday and should be calculated as follows:
Total Amount of Regular Wages Earned
Number of Days Worked in the Period

22. Key Issues for Small Business to Consider:
Profitability
Are profits increasing year over year?
Are your margins large enough to withstand rising business costs?
Do other benefits or “perks” need to be discontinued to maintain profitability?
Do you have a strategy to address labour costs and remain profitable?
Current Staffing Levels
Can the organization afford to maintain current staff levels?
Does your workforce need to be rationalized?
Do hours of work and scheduling need to be modified?
Should certain things be outsourced?
Competition
What pricing strategy will your company use to keep pace?
Taxes
What are the additional effects of tax changes such as increases in payroll taxes, EI, and CPP?

23. What Can/Should You Do?
Determine how these changes impact your business
Optimize your workforce
Review & update HR policies & employee handbooks
Communicate important changes with employees
Ensure your HR infrastructure is in place to adopt these changes:
Developing/Updating policies and procedures
Review discretionary benefits
Record keeping
Review and modify your compensation structure
Review how overtime and on-call changes may impact your business

24. Practical Concerns For Businesses & The Future
Brad Fisher