Vey Willetts lawyer Paul Willetts was recently quoted in The Lawyer's Daily. The article, "New federal rules to require interns to be paid minimum wage, students exempt", considers new regulations under the Canada Labour Code that are poised to take effect this fall.
Late in the day on Friday, May 29th, the Ontario Government quietly released a new regulation made pursuant to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”). Statutory regulations are not normally the stuff of excitement, even for lawyers. Yet this particular regulation, O. Reg. 228/20, Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (the “Regulation”), merits special consideration.
Hiring a new worker can be exciting. Presumably, by the time you make the job offer, something about the candidate has impressed you and suggested this person is the one for the job. Similarly, most hires are eager for the opportunity to work with you – that’s why they applied for and accepted the job!
This week on Twitter, our firm has been examining the minimum wage from a variety of perspectives. Using the hashtag #minimumwageweek, we shared content ranging from videos of famed economists such as Milton Friedman to historical articles on the original debate when Ontario’s minimum wage was first introduced in 1963.
On October 23, 2018 the Ford government presented Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act. Bill 47 is set to repeal a large portion of Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, which was passed into law by the previous provincial government just 11 months ago.
According to Restaurants Canada, the Canadian food service industry employs over 1.2 million people. With so many people involved in this industry, whether as franchise owners, professional chefs or part-time servers, it is important to be aware of the workplace rights and obligations that apply. The food services industry is in many ways unique, facing safety and cost challenges that many other sectors do not. With that in mind, we set out to provide an overview of some key employment rights and obligations:
Last April, we wrote about an interesting decision from the Ontario Superior Court concerning when the limitations period begins to run for claims of wrongful dismissal and statutory severance pay. In that case, the Court held that the limitation period to claim unpaid statutory severance pay commences as soon as working notice of dismissal is issued to an employee.
Last month, the provincial government passed into law Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017. This Act brings with it significant changes to employment law in Ontario for both employees and employers. In particular, Bill 148 will overhaul parts of the Employment Standards Act, the Labour Relations Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
