March 21, 2025

As one of the responses to ongoing tariff disputes with the United States, the federal government is expanding the Employment Insurance Work-Sharing Program with special measures that were instituted March 7, 2025 and will be in place to March 6, 2026.

The Work-Sharing Program was designed to help employers avoid layoffs when they face a temporary decrease in business activity for reasons beyond their control.

An employer must disclose evidence of decreased business activity as well as a recovery plan outlining a path toward normalized working hours for affected employees.

If program requirements are met, an employer, employees (or their unions, if any) and Service Canada enter into a multi-party Work-Sharing agreement under which available work is shared equally among employees and Employment Insurance (EI) benefits are provided by the federal government to mitigate income loss for employees working reduced hours.

Where requirements are met, the Work-Sharing Program is one option to address a shortfall of available work. The advantage of this option is that it retains staff in anticipation of improved business demand in the future.

Employee eligibility
As a specific response to the current trade dispute with the United States, the government has expanded and revised eligibility criteria to include employers experiencing a decline in business activity due to the threat or application of US tariffs.

Changes are noted in bold below.

Employers may now be eligible for Work-Sharing special measures if they:

• Have been operating in Canada for at least one year (lower than usual two-year requirement);
• Operate either year-round or on a seasonal or cyclical basis (seasonal/cyclical businesses had been typically excluded); 
• Are a private or publicly held company, or a non-profit/charitable organization experiencing a reduction in revenue levels as a direct/indirect result of tariffs (non-profits are typically excluded except in narrow circumstances and public sector employers are typically excluded);
• Experience a decrease in overall work activities over the past six months (the usual minimum of at least a 10% decrease does not apply in response to tariffs);
• Have at least two eligible employees in a proposed Work-Sharing unit.

Employee eligibility
Employee eligibility has also been expanded. Normally, only “core” employees are eligible to participate, meaning permanent full-time or part-time employees.

Under the tariff response rules, employees who are assisting in employer recovery efforts, or who are seasonal or cyclical employees, are also eligible.

Additionally, the normal 60% cap on utilization (the percentage of lost hours that will be eligible for EI payments) has been removed, meaning EI benefits can make up for more lost hours.

Duration
Finally, the maximum duration of Work-Sharing agreements has been extended. 

Work-Sharing agreements normally run between 6 to 26 weeks with a possible extension up to 38 weeks. There is a mandatory “cooling-off period” between successive agreements equal to the length of the prior agreement. Under the new rules, agreements may be extended up to 76 weeks and the cooling-off period has been waived.

I hope that your business will not be negatively effected by this trade dispute, but in the event that it is I hope you will find this information useful.

Please contact me with any questions you may have or for assistance working through your staffing matters.

June 6, 2023

As I advised last December, as of June 1, 2023, the government of Ontario is implementing a new section of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) that requires at-risk employers to ensure their workplaces have a naloxone kit on hand and workers trained on how to use them.

The government is making free naloxone kits (and free training) available for these workplaces.

Businesses can determine if they are eligible for the program and find additional information on accessing free kits and training at Ontario.ca/workplacenaloxone.

Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose, restore breathing within two to five minutes, and allow time for medical help to arrive.

There is no set definition of ‘at-risk workplaces’, but they are generally deemed to be workplaces where there is a risk of staff witnessing or experiencing an opioid overdose.

Construction is by far the industry most impacted by opioid overdose. Of the workers who died from opioid-related causes last year, 30 per cent were employed in construction

Bars and nightclubs have also seen increased opioid usage and accidental overdoses, often because of recreational drugs laced with deadly opioids such as fentanyl and carfentanil.

Note that the new requirements in the OHSA are related specifically to opioid overdose and do not change how an employer may choose to manage worker impairment from drugs or alcohol that may pose a risk to workplace safety.

The full government announcement can be found at »» this link.

Please contact me with any questions you may have or for assistance working through your staffing matters.

March 31, 2023

Ontario minimum wage increase 

The government of Ontario today announced that the minimum wage will be increased to $16.55 an hour effective October 1, 2023

Click »» here to read the full News Release on the Ontario Government website.

March 30, 2023

The 2023 Ontario Budget released on March 23, 2023, provides that Paid Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (Paid IDEL) will expire on March 31, 2023.

Paid IDEL first became available in April 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic was having significant impact on all aspects of work and social life.

It required employers to provide employees with up to three days’ pay if they missed work for certain reasons relating to COVID-19.

Reasons for leave included self-isolating, getting tested for COVID-19, awaiting the results of a test; being sick with COVID-19, getting vaccinated, experiencing side effects from a vaccination, getting individual medical treatment for mental health reasons relating to COVID-19, and providing care or support to certain relatives for COVID-19-related reasons.

Eligible employers were entitled to apply for a reimbursement from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) of payments made to employees who took paid IDEL, up to a maximum of $200 per day per employee.

Paid IDEL, including provision for reimbursement, was extended several times by Regulation. As I advised in July of 2022, Ontario filed Regulation 464/22, amended O. Reg. 228/20: Infectious Disease Emergency Leave Regulation to extend the availability of Paid IDEL until March 31, 2023.

Reimbursement
With the expiration of the program on March 31, 2023, employers can apply for reimbursement for any eligible Paid IDEL up to and including that date. 

Applications for reimbursement can be made through this link:
https://ontario-covid19-worker-income-protection-benefit.ca/en

Applications must be made within 120 days of the date the employer paid the employee, or by July 29, 2023 (whichever is earlier). The WSIB cannot process applications submitted after 120 days .

Unpaid IDEL available for eligible employees
Although Paid IDEL will not be available after March 31, 2023, for as long as COVID-19 is designated an “infectious disease” by O. Reg. 228/20, employees will continue to have the right to take unpaid IDEL if they are not performing the duties of their position for any of the following reasons related to COVID-19:

• the employee is under individual medical investigation, supervision or treatment related to COVID-19; 
• the employee is following a COVID‑19-related order issued under the Health Promotion and Protection Act; 
• the employee is in quarantine, isolation (voluntary or involuntary), or is subject to a control measure implemented as a result of information or directions related to COVID-19, and issued by a public health official, qualified health practitioner, Telehealth Ontario, the government of Ontario or Canada, a municipal council, or a board of health; 
• the employee is under a direction given by their employer in response to the employer’s concern that the employee might expose other individuals in the workplace to COVID-19; 
• the employee is providing care or support to specified individuals (family members) because of a matter related to COVID-19; or 
• the employee is directly affected by travel restrictions related to COVID-19 that prevent them from travelling back to Ontario. 

There is no specified limit to the number of days an employee can be on unpaid IDEL. Employers may ask for “evidence reasonable in the circumstances,” “at a time reasonable in the circumstances,” to verify the unpaid IDEL; however, they cannot require medical certificates.

Please contact me with any questions you may have or for assistance working through your staffing matters.

March 21, 2023

Employers with operations in British Columbia should be aware that on March 7, 2023, the Legislative Assembly introduced Bill 13, the Pay Transparency Act, which will require all employers in the province to include wage or salary ranges on all publicly advertised jobs as of Nov. 1, 2023.

The stated goal of the Act is “to help close the gender pay gap in B.C. – the next step on the path to pay equity.”

The Act would also prohibit employers from asking job applicants about their pay history or otherwise seeking such information from a third party (e.g., the candidate’s current/previous employer), unless the information is publicly available. In addition, employers will not be able to punish employees who disclose their pay to potential job applicants or co-workers.

Under the legislation, employers will gradually be required to publicly post ‘pay transparency reports’ on their gender pay gap. This requirement is being introduced in stages – by number of employees – to give employers time to prepare, as follows:

• Nov. 1, 2023: BC Public Service Agency and Crown corporations with more than 1,000 employees (ICBC, BC Hydro, WorkSafeBC, BC Housing, BC Lottery Corporation and BC Transit).
• Nov. 1, 2024: all employers with 1,000 employees or more
• Nov. 1, 2025: all employers with 300 employees or more
• Nov. 1, 2026: all employers with 50 employees or more

Regulations are being developed for the fall that will provide employers with more details about how to report on the pay gap and what information will be required.

Bill 13 is subject to further legislative debate and potential revisions as it progresses through the legislative process. I will continue to monitor its progress and update you as appropriate.

Please contact me with any questions you may have or for assistance working through your staffing matters.