Yesterday, on November 21, 2018, Bill 47 Making Ontario Open for Business Act (“Open for Business Act”) received Royal Assent with an effective date of January 1, 2019.
The Open for Business Act repeals many of the workplace amendments implemented by the previous Liberal government under the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, better known as Bill 148. However, from a policy perspective one of the key changes revolves around Personal Emergency Leave.
Effective January 1, 2019, Bill 47 replaces the Personal Emergency Leave reforms introduced by Bill 148 with three personal illness days, two days for bereavement and three days for family responsibilities, all of which are unpaid for employees with two weeks of service. Bill 148 currently provides most Ontario employees with up to 10 days of job-protected leave, the first two of which are paid.
To the extent that you want to now revise your policies to comply with the new minimum (and arguably lesser) standard, please contact ClientCare to arrange a call with one of our Advisors.