Bill 66 Passes
Bill 66 has passed! Further to our past post on Bill 66 the oh so neutrally named Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act received Royal Assent in the Ontario legislature on April 3, 2019.
This Bill ushers in further changes to the Ontario workplace statutory landscape, with amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA) and the Pension Benefits Act (PBA). The ESA and PBA changes are now in effect. The majority of the LRA changes will come into effect on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
Changes to the ESA
The changes to the ESA came into force on April 3, 2019, and have a practical impact on workplaces where overtime is common and where employees work more than the ESA maximum weekly hours of work – 48 hours.
Bill 66 amends the ESA to remove the requirement that employers obtain the approval from the Director of Employment Standards regarding agreements with employees or bargaining units on overtime and excess weekly hours of work.