Minister McNaughton Introduces the Working for Workers Act, 2021

Yesterday, Hon. Monte McNaughton introduced the Working for Workers Act, 2021, legislation that will cut WSIB premiums, promote healthy work-life balances, ban unfair non-compete agreements, among other reforms. The Ontario government hopes this legislation will support employers still recovering from COVID-19 while easing the labour shortage in the province by making it easier for foreign-trained professionals and tradespeople to find work in their chosen fields.

If passed, the Working for Workers Act, 2021, would:

• Require employers with 25 or more employees to have a written policy about employees disconnecting from their job at the end of the workday to help employees spend more time with their families. Learn more.
• Ban the use of non-compete agreements that prevent people from exploring other work opportunities in order to make it easier for workers to advance in their careers. Learn more.
• Help remove barriers, such as Canadian experience requirements, for internationally trained individuals to get licenced in a regulated profession and get access to jobs that match their qualifications and skills. Learn more.
• Require recruiters and temporary help agencies to have a licence to operate in the province to help protect vulnerable employees from being exploited. Learn more.
• Require business owners to allow delivery workers to use a company’s washroom if they are delivering or picking up items. This supports the delivery drivers, couriers and truck drivers who have kept our essential supplies and economy going throughout the pandemic. Learn more.
• Allow surpluses in the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s Insurance Fund to be distributed over certain levels to businesses, helping them cope with the impacts of COVID-19. Learn more.
• Enable the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board to work with entities, like the Canada Revenue Agency, to streamline remittances for businesses, enabling a way to give them an efficient one-stop-shop for submitting premiums and payroll deductions. Learn more.
• Allow the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to collect information related to the agri-food workforce to ensure the government can enhance the coordination of services such as vaccination and testing, and respond to issues that may arise.

Many of the proposed changes were informed by the recommendations made by the Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee, based on their consultations with workers, employers and unions.