On March 21st, the Government of Ontario officially received Royal Assent on the fourth installation of its worker protection legislation, The Working for Workers Four Act, 2023.
The Working for Workers Four Act, 2023, introduces several new provisions aimed at safeguarding workers’ rights and improving their working conditions. Minister David Piccini, leading the initiative, stated, “By putting workers first, we are filling the labour shortage, incentivizing employers to create more local jobs, and helping more workers land a better job with a bigger paycheque.”
This piece of legislation builds on successful efforts – borne out during the most recent election campaign – from the Ford Government to build increased support with labour groups who have traditionally supported other parties.
New Policies
This act includes a number of new policies to enhance worker protections.
Critically, the act improves cancer coverage for firefighters and fire investigators. The required employment period to receive compensation for esophageal cancer diagnoses has been reduced from 25 to 15 years, acknowledging the risks these first responders face in their line of duty.
The legislation also fortifies wage protections for workers in the restaurant, hospitality, and service sectors. It explicitly prohibits employers from deducting an employee’s wages in events like a dine and dash or gas and dash.
In a pioneering move, Ontario has also banned the use of Canadian experience as a prerequisite in job postings or application forms. This initiative, the first of its kind in Canada, aims to dismantle barriers for qualified workers, particularly in healthcare, facilitating their entry into in-demand jobs.
Additional changes include making it easier for international students to qualify for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, mandating employers to disclose if artificial intelligence (AI) is used during the hiring process, and indexing the increases to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board benefits above the annual rate of inflation.
The government is also setting the stage for additional protections, including launching consultations to explore legislative options for restricting the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) in workplace sexual harassment, misconduct, or violence cases.
Finally, the act aims to advance worker protections with pay-transparency legislation requiring employers to post salary ranges in job postings. This ensures that prospective employees are aware of what they can expect to be paid for a given role, and is designed as a further step towards improving gender pay equity.
Industry Reactions
“We thank our firefighters for their service, and we also thank the Ontario government for recognizing the need to improve the presumed compensation for firefighters battling cancer. When it comes to the unfortunate reality of firefighters that are facing cancer from their efforts to protect us… we simply cannot allow them to be forgotten or left behind in their time of peril.” – Jonathan White, Representative for the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers.
“These practical changes to the Act hold employers in the hospitality industry accountable to create a safer and healthier workplace environment.” – UNITE HERE! Local 75 President Guled Warsame.
“We know that the Canadian experience continues to be one of the most prominent barriers faced by many newcomers in their search for meaningful employment. Introducing legislation to ban the Canadian experience requirements from job postings and ads is a big leap forward in the right direction to eliminate systemic barriers facing newcomers and to facilitate pathways to their labour market inclusion.” – Sara Asalya, Executive Director of Newcomer Women’s Services Toronto.