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More Legislative Changes for Ontario Employers as Ontario’s Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 Receives Royal Assent

November 06, 2024

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Written By Brendan Weiler and Talia Bregman

On October 28, 2024, Ontario's Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 (Bill 190) received Royal Assent. As Ontario’s fifth and most recent legislative initiative introduced under the “Working for Workers” headline, Bill 190 makes further changes to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the ESA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the OHSA). While several of Bill 190’s legislative changes are already in effect, others will only come into effect on a future date that is yet to be proclaimed.

In this blog, we review some of the key legislative changes to provincially regulated employers—and their employees—in Ontario. 

Changes to Ontario's ESA

The following changes to the ESA are now in effect:

The following changes to the ESA will only come into effect on a future date to be proclaimed:

Changes to Ontario's OHSA

The following changes to the OHSA are now in effect:

The following changes to the OHSA will only come into effect on a future date to be proclaimed:

Key Takeaways

While several of Bill 190’s changes to the ESA and OHSA are now in effect, others will require future proclamation by the lieutenant governor before they come into force. We also continue to await the development of accompanying regulations and guidance materials to clarify the specifics behind some of these new employer obligations. We will continue to keep an eye on these developments and provide updates as they become available.

In the interim, Ontario employers should review and update their applicable workplace policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the ESA and OHSA changes that are already in effect, and with those that will soon be in effect.

If you have any questions about any of the changes discussed in this post, please contact one of the authors, or another member of the Bennett Jones Employment Services group, for more information. 

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