Ontario Employment Legislation – How Compliant are You?

Ontario Employment Legislation – How Compliant are You?

October 11, 2016

On September 8, 2016, some changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act came into effect regarding workplace harassment and violence. Ontario employers who have more than five (5) workers are now required to have a written workplace harassment and violence policy and to post the policy in a conspicuous place in the workplace.

There are various legislative requirements for employers in Ontario that deal with:

What workplace policies are required?
What must be posted in the workplace?
What training is mandatory?

The following is a summary of the workplace requirements under different legislation for Ontario employers. Please note that this is a generalization and there are various exceptions, etc. that may apply.

	ESA	OHRC	OHSA	WSIA	PIPEDA
Legislation	Employment Standards Act	Ontario Human Right Code	Occupational Health and Safety Act	Workplace Safety and Insurance Act	Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act
Who has to comply?	All employers employing employees whose work is performed in Ontario	Ontario employers and employees	Ontario employers	Determine whether you must register with Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)	Ontario businesses in the course of commercial activities
Workplace Policy	Not mandatory	Strongly recommended. Tribunal has power to order that employer create written policy (how to)	Workplaces having 5 or more workers that are regularly employed, must have a written OHS policy (how to) and a Workplace Harassment and Workplace Violence Policy (how to) and review both at least once per year	See WSIB site for obligations	Not mandatory but recommended
Posting Requirements	Current version of “Employment Standards in Ontario” poster must be displayed in a conspicuous location. New employees must be provided a copy of the poster within 30 days of commencement of employment.	None	Must display: 1. OHSA Poster 2. Workplace harassment and Workplace Violence Policy 3. copy of the Act	You are required by law to hang the WSIB “In Case of Injury at Work – 1234” poster, near your first aid station	None.
Training Requirements	Not mandatory	Strongly recommended. Tribunal has power to order that employer provide training (how to)	Every Ontario worker and supervisor is required to complete training. Online training is available through the Ministry of Labour	First aid training is required	Not mandatory.

Complying with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act

Ontario has legislated a phased in approach for the Ontarians with Disabilities Act with a view to the Act being fully implemented by 2025. The Ontario Government has developed a toolkit to assist businesses. The general obligations for Ontario businesses are as follows:

	Summary	1-19 Employees
Jan 12, 2012	Provide	Provide accessible customer service (how to) train your staff/volunteers to serve customers of all abilities welcome service animals and support persons create accessible ways for people to provide feedback put an accessibility policy in place so employees/volunteers/customers can know what to expect Provide accessible emergency and public safety information (how to) Provide accessible emergency information to staff (how to)
Jan 1, 2014	Create Policy Create Multi-Year Plan Accessible Kiosks Make Website Accessible			Create accessibility policies and a multi-year plan (how to) tell you employees/customers about your policies post the multi-year plan on your website in an accessible format Consider accessibility when purchasing or designing self-service kiosks (how to) Make websites accessible (how to)
Dec 31, 2014	File		File an Accessibility Compliance Report (how to)
Jan 1, 2015	Create Policy Accessible Kiosks	Create accessibility policies (how to) tell you employees/customers about your policies Consider accessibility when purchasing or designing self-service kiosks (how to)		Train your staff on Ontario’s accessibility laws (how to) Make it easy for people with disabilities to provide feedback (how to)
Jan 1, 2015	Train staff Feedback
Jan 1, 2016	Train staff Feedback	Train your staff on Ontario’s accessibility laws (how to) Make it easy for people with disabilities to provide feedback (how to)		Make your public information accessible when asked (how to) Make your employment practices accessible (how to) how you hire, retain and provide career development opportunities document your process for developing individual accommodation plan and return-to-work plans
Jan 1, 2016	public information employment practices
Jan 1, 2017	public information employment practices	Make your public information accessible when asked (how to) Make your employment practices accessible (how to) how you hire, retain and provide career development opportunities document your process for developing individual accommodation plan and return-to-work plans		Make new or redeveloped public spaces accessible (how to)
Jan 1, 2017	public spaces			Make new or redeveloped public spaces accessible (how to)
Dec 31, 2017	File		File an Accessibility Compliance Report (how to)
Jan 1, 2018	Public spaces	Make new or redeveloped public spaces accessible (how to)
Dec 31, 2020	File		File an Accessibility Compliance Report (how to)
Jan 1, 2021	Websites and web content			Make all websites and web content accessible (how to)
Dec 31, 2023	File		File an Accessibility Compliance Report (how to)

Tags: Employment

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Ontario Employment Legislation – How Compliant are You?

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