Ontario plans to explicitly ban unpaid trial shifts for restaurant and hospitality workers and tighten rules against deducting workers’ wages for customer theft.
The proposed changes are the latest in a series of labour law changes tabled by Labour Minister David Piccini on Tuesday.
While it is already the law that workers must be paid for all hours worked, Piccini said unpaid trial shifts were still being used as part of the interview process in some restaurants. If passed, the legislation will explicitly ban the practice.
Similarly, labour laws already prohibit employers from deducting wages for lost or stolen property, but new language will specifically prohibit it in cases of dine-and-dash or gas-and-dash, Piccini said.
Also, while current laws allow employers to share in pooled tips if they are doing the same work as their employees, the legislation to be introduced today would require employers to tell employees if they are doing so.
Piccini says that because of the rise of digital payment apps, including some that charge workers a fee to access their tips, the bill will also specify that employees who are paid their tips via direct deposit can choose where that money is deposited.
“We’re seeing apps that take a cut every time … a worker accesses their tips, and that’s not acceptable,” Piccini said in an interview.
“I mean, imagine telling an office worker that every time they access their paycheck, they’re going to get a cut. We wouldn’t say it’s acceptable there, so why would we say it’s acceptable for those in the hospitality and service sector?”
Bill to ban mandatory Canadian work experience
The Workers’ Action Centre said in a statement that the government is failing to meaningfully enforce existing laws that prevent actions such as wage deductions for theft. The group pointed out that investigations, inspections and prosecutions by the Ministry of Labour under the Employment Standards Act are far lower than they were in 2018-19.
The group also noted that the government has so far failed to pass a private member’s bill by Progressive Conservative MP Deepak Anand, which would require customers to pre-pay for gasoline to prevent gas-and-dash theft. It was referred to committee in April, but no hearings have been scheduled.
Other changes in the new legislation include several aimed at the recruitment and hiring process. The bill would prohibit employers from requiring Canadian work experience in job postings or application forms, which Piccini says will help newcomers get a better foot in the door to offer their valuable skills and experience.
Job postings would also have to include salary ranges, and companies would have to disclose if artificial intelligence is part of their hiring process, in part due to concerns about data collection and personal privacy.
The legislation would also increase payments to injured workers by allowing increases to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board benefits to be “super-indexed” at a rate above inflation.
It would also allow more firefighters and fire investigators to qualify for WSIB benefits for oesophageal cancer. Currently, firefighters and fire investigators must have 25 years on the job before oesophageal cancer is considered a work-related illness.
The new legislation would also increase the number of international students in Ontario eligible for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program by revising the eligibility requirements to allow students from one-year post-secondary certificate programs to apply.
It would also change the way regulated professions such as accounting, architecture and geosciences use third-party organisations to assess international qualifications, which the government says would improve oversight and accountability.