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Working for Workers 6 Act

On November 27, 2024, Ontario’s government introduced Bill 229, the Working for Workers Six Act, 2024. If passed, the Act would bring amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, and other non-employment legislation. These proposed amendments include:

Proposed Amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000

1. Introduction of a new job protected leave of up to 16 weeks after the placement or arrival of a child into an employee’s custody, care, and control through adoption or surrogacy; and,
2. Introduction of a new long-term illness leave of up to 27 weeks if an employee is unable to perform the duties of their position because of a serious medical condition.

Proposed Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”)

1. Introduction of a minimum fine of $500,000 for any corporation found guilty of a second or subsequent offence under the OHSA that resulted in the death or serious injury of one or more workers in a two (2) year period.
2. Introduction of a requirement for employers to ensure that any personal protective clothing and equipment is a proper fit and appropriate in the circumstances, including for diverse bodies.
3. Introduction of new powers to the Chief Prevention Officer to:
   a) Establish criteria to assess and approve training programs delivered outside of Ontario for equivalency;
   b) Establish policies related to general training requirements under the OHSA;
   c) Seek advice from an advisory committee established by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development; and,
   d) Collect and use personal information for the purpose of developing, monitoring or reporting on a provincial health and safety strategy or for the purpose of providing advice on the prevention of workplace injury and occupational disease.
4. Introduction of new powers to the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development to require a constructor to establish a worker trades committee at a project and provide for the composition, practice, and procedure(s) of that worker trades committee.

Proposed Amendment to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997

1. Extension of presumptions for prescribed firefighters and fire investigators for primary-site kidney cancer and primary-site colorectal cancer notably by reducing the required service duration from 25 year to 10 years for primary-site kidney cancer and by removing the requirement that a primary-site colorectal cancer diagnosis be made before the worker is 61 years of age; and,
2. Introduction of surplus distribution amounts in the Insurance Fund to a Schedule 2 employer that is a municipality, provided certain prescribed requirements are met.

Proposed Amendments to Other Non-Employment Legislation

1. Amendment to the Highway Traffic Act to provide additional driver requirements where a work-related vehicle is stopped on a highway;
2. Amendment to the Ontario Immigration Act (the “OIA”) to prohibit individuals from making an oral or written misrepresentation in an application under the OIA or submitting a false document in support of an application or counseling another person to commit any such acts;
3. Introduction of new powers to the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development to impose a ban on an applicant or representative for a prescribed period where they have contravened the provisions of the OIA; and,
4. Introduction of the proclamation for the first week of November every year as Skilled Trades Week.

Employers should be aware that the above-listed proposed amendments have not yet come into force. Reach out to our team at CCPartners if you have any questions about these proposed amendments and keep an eye out for our next blog as Bill 229 progresses through the legislative process.

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