$15 minimum wage only one aspect of the bill
On Nov. 22, the Ontario government passed Bill 148. Many may be familiar with this as the bill that has been clogging their news feeds with debate over a $15 per hour minimum wage. However, the minimum wage increase is only one of many facets of the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017.
Introduced on June 1 of this year, under the full title “An Act to amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and the Labour Relations Act, 1995 and to make related amendments to other Acts,” Bill 148 is a piece of legislation designed to increase the rights of employees across the province, which includes providing them with security in their wages. The version of the bill that made it to the third reading, the last step in the legislative process before Royal Assent, does in fact raise the minimum wage to $14 an hour on the first day of the new year, and again to the contentious $15 an hour exactly one year later, on Jan. 1, 2019. These numbers are lower for employees who are students under the age of 18 as well as those who serve liquor and receive tips. For these individuals, the increased wages will reach $13.15 and $12.20 an hour, respectively, on Jan. 1 of this year.
The long title of the final bill is “An Act to amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000, the Labour Relations Act, 1995 and the Occupational Health and Safety Act and to make related amendments to other Acts,” naming a third act not present in the title of the original legislation. This reflects a recent amendment to the bill, which will prevent employers from requiring their workers to wear raised heels, “unless it is required for the worker to perform his or her work safely,” or if the worker performs in the entertainment or advertising industries. This means restaurant owners can no longer force their female serving staff to wear high heels.
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Included in the bill are several provisions regarding scheduling, including:
- Giving employees the right to refuse demands to come into work when given less than three days’ notice
- Entitling employees to pay when a shift is cancelled with insufficient notice
- Minimum payment required for employees who are on call
- Payment equal to three hours of work for employees who work less than that in a single shift
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Furthermore, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act will require employers to discuss requests for scheduling changes with employees who make them and to provide reasoning if they are denied.
The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act will also make extensions to several types of leave. Pregnancy leave will be doubled from six to 12 weeks, and parental leave will be raised to an entitlement of 61 weeks, or 63 if one did not take pregnancy leave, up from 35 and 37 weeks, respectively. The maximum period of family medical leave will be 28 weeks, which is three times longer than the previous eight, and will now be granted when there’s a need to support any critically ill family member, not just a child, as was previously the case. The Bill also establishes a two-year leave period for employees coping with the death of a child, as well as a 15-week leave period to be granted if an employee or their child experiences, or faces the threat of, sexual or domestic violence.
Bill 148 contains multiple sections meant to improve conditions for those working for a temporary help agency. These include ensuring that they are paid appropriately for the work they do while on assignment, which must not be less than a regular employee would be paid for the same job. It also necessitates that these workers are fairly warned, or financially compensated, when an assignment is terminated prematurely.
The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act is a multi-faceted piece of legislation that attempts to live up to its name by addressing numerous employee concerns across the province, proving that employees have a lot more to be excited about than just a $15 minimum wage.
Photo by Alora Griffiths/The Ontarion