On March 20, 2023, the Ontario government tabled Bill 79, Working for Workers Act, 2023. If passed, Bill 79 would amend several statutes including the Employment Standards Act, 2000, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act, 2009. In this FTR Now, we review proposed amendments of particular interest to employers.

Group Terminations

Section 58 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) provides for enhanced notice of termination and special procedural rules where 50 or more employees are terminated within the same four-week period at an employer’s “establishment.” Bill 79 would broaden the definition of “establishment” to include a private residence of an employer’s employee if the employee performs work in the private residence and the employee does not perform work at any other location where the employer carries on business. As a result, employees who work solely from home would be eligible for the same enhanced notice provided to on-site employees if a group termination occurs.

In addition, Bill 79 would amend the ESA to require employers to provide copies of Form 1 (the document setting out required information in a group termination) both to the Director of Employment Standards and to each employee affected by the group termination.

Reservist Leave

Bill 79 would amend the existing ESA reservist leave in a couple of ways. First, the scope of the leave would be expanded to include periods of time where an employee...

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