Working for Workers Four Act in Ontario: Employee Guide

Ontario has passed the Working for Workers Four Act marking another advancement in employment laws aimed at protecting and enhancing workers’ rights in the province. This legislation introduces changes across various sectors to support worker welfare and job protection.

Key Features of the Act

• Vacation Pay Provisions Clarification: Employers in Ontario must obtain written agreement from employees if vacation pay is to be provided in a manner other than a lump sum before vacation, ensuring clarity and mutual understanding.
• Wage Protection for Service Workers: New rules prevent wage deductions for customer thefts like dine and dashes, gas and dashes or any other stolen property. Trial shifts are paid. Transparency in tipping and wage deductions is now mandated. Employers must post in the workplace if they are sharing in pooled tips – something that is only allowed if they perform the same work as their staff – and requires employers who pay tips using direct deposit to allow their employees to select which account they want funds deposited into.
• Salary range and AI use disclosures: Employers are now required to disclose salary ranges in job postings and inform applicants if artificial intelligence (AI) will be used during the hiring process, promoting fairness and transparency.
• Banning “Canadian Experience” in Job Postings: Ontario is now the first province to ban the “Canadian experience” requirement in job postings, particularly benefiting those in in-demand fields like healthcare. This change is aimed to fill critical job vacancies with qualified candidates.
• Firefighter Cancer Coverage: The qualification period for esophageal cancer compensation for firefighters has been reduced from 25 to 15 years.
• Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) accessibility: Changes have been made to facilitate easier qualification for international students, supporting Ontario’s aim to fill labour shortages with skilled workers.
• Enhanced oversight: The act mandates better transparency and fairness in how regulated professions assess international qualifications, ensuring that qualifications are recognized appropriately.
• “Super indexing” for WSIB benefits: In addition to annual inflation adjustments, the act enables further increases to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board benefits for injured workers.

Looking Ahead: Future Consultations

The legislation also paves the way for further discussions on restricting Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) in cases of workplace sexual harassment and creating a new, job-protected leave for critical illnesses. These consultations aim to address pressing issues affecting workers’ rights and well-being.