On April 3, 2019 the Ontario Government’s Bill 66 received Royal Assent and passed into law. This new law institutes several changes to the Employment Standards Act (ESA), Pension Benefits Act (PBA) and Labour Relations Act (LRA).
The changes to the ESA and PBA came into force on April 3, while those outlined below that effect the LRA will come into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
Outlined below are the most important changes in each Act.
Changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000
The most important changes in the ESA will have an impact on workplaces where overtime is common and where employees work more than the ESA maximum weekly hours of work – 48 hours.
Bill 66 removes the requirement that agreements with employees or bargaining units on overtime and excess weekly hours of work obtain approval from the Director of Employment Standards.
Overtime Averaging
While approval from the Director is no longer necessary, agreements must meet certain requirements in order to limit the employee’s entitlement to overtime through averaging of hours an employee works over a specified number of weeks
- Averaging can occur over a maximum of 4 weeks
- The averaging agreement must include a start date and an end date
Excess Weekly Hours of Work
The maximum weekly hours of work remains the same, 48.
In order to exceed the maximum, a written agreement between the employee or bargaining unit and the employer is still required; it is only the approval from the Director of Employment Standards that is not now required.
ESA Poster Requirement
Employers will no longer be required to post the ESA employment rights posters in the workplace, but are still required to provide the ESA poster to employees on hire.
The latest ESA poster can be obtained through this link: https://www.ontario.ca/page/posters-required-workplace
Changes to the Labour Relations Act, 1995
Definition of Non Construction Employers
The most prominent changes regarding the LRA relate to the Definition of ‘Non-Construction’ Employers. A new section has been added which deems a number of entities to be “non-construction employers” within the definition of the LRA, including:
- Municipalities
- Certain local and administrative boards including:
- housing boards
- school boards
- hospitals, colleges
- universities; and
- public bodies.
As a result, when this section comes into force the construction industry section of the Labour Relations Act will no longer apply to these entities; and any collective agreements that construction trade unions hold under the construction industry section of the Labour Relations Act would no longer be in force as these entities would no longer be bound to construction industry collective agreements.
Combined Construction AND Non-Construction Bargaining Units
Some employers affected by the above-noted amendment may currently have bargaining units composed of both construction AND non-construction employees. These employers and affected trade unions may apply to the Ontario Labour Relations Board to amend or redefine such bargaining units.
Changes to the Pension Benefits Act
The Bill 66 amendments to the PBA alter the process by which private sector employers convert single-employer pension plans to jointly sponsored pension plans.
Schedule 6 of Bill 66 repeals subsection 80.4(1) of the PBA, which has the effect of streamlining transfers of assets and liabilities between single employer pension plans and jointly sponsored pension plans. This change to the PBA came into force on April 3, 2019.