When Ontario’s government declared its intention to make major changes to the province’s labour laws – specifically with the introduction of Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act – it did so with the aim of ameliorating working conditions and compensation for most Ontarians.
The Act received royal assent in the provincial parliament on November 27, 2017, and had a ripple effect on Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000, the Labour Relations Act, 1995, and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Unsurprisingly, there was much push-back, argumentation, joy and concern about the new law, which featured the lightning rod-like implementation of a significant raise in the minimum wage, an almost immediate increase from $11.60 to $14 an hour as of January 1, 2018 (less than two months after passage), and then up again to $15 an hour as of January 1, 2019.
A November 22, 2017 story in The Financial Post called the legislation “both a massive boon and possible job-killer for Canada’s most populous province.”
Other highlights of the changes to work law include amendments to how much vacation time is granted to employees, equal pay for equal work regardless of job status (full, part, temporary or casual) and the ways in which personal emergency leave are calculated. There is more; and there are some nuances and exceptions to certain clauses and categories of worker that are stipulated in the Act. For those wanting to get granular, you can read in-depth about the specifics of the new Act here.
For the most part though, pundits and financial analysts from across the political spectrum concentrated their prognostications on how the hourly wage increase would impact for-profits. However, those working in the province’s charitable sector were also impacted.
Predicting a fair nonprofit workplace
In its November 30, 2017 Charity & NFP Law Bulletin (#411), Carters charity law firm noted that the minimum wage issue was “…the subject of intense public debate, including from charities and not-for-profits that depend on fixed governmental funding or generally those that hire employees at minimum wage, as they will need to take these additional costs into account in their operational budget planning.”
Carters concluded that Bill 148 would have a wide-ranging impact across the nonprofit sector in Ontario, noting that the Act “… will result in significant challenges for many employers in Ontario, including those in the not-for-profit and charitable sector. Not only the increases to the general minimum wage, but also the provisions of expanded leave entitlements combined with the requirement to pay temporary replacement staff the same rate as the employees on leave, may all pose significant challenges to charities and not-for-profits. Charities and not-for-profits will need to identify and implement strategies to meet the new statutory obligations as different sections of Bill 148 come into force.”
Plugging into the network
The Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) has been deeply involved in helping contribute ideas to, and now in monitoring how, the Act is impacting its membership of more than 55,000 nonprofit and charitable organizations.
Monina Febria, the ONN’s Decent Work project lead, responded to CharityVillage’s queries about what her organization is hearing from the sector and how the implementation of the new Act is going over. She notes that many aspects of the Act were being championed by the ONN since 2015.
“Increases to the statutory minimum wage, vacation time and other aspects included in Bill 148 highlight areas where many nonprofits are already supporting and following good practices,” Febria wrote. “There is no question, however, that the legislation imposes new labour costs on nonprofits as employers and some will face challenges in covering these costs. We have heard there is significant variation in how different funders have responded. Some are eager to support nonprofits with new legislative requirements while others have yet to step up. Many of our sub-sectors (developmental services, child care, employment & training, etc.) are engaging with their funders across the approximately 15 Ontario ministries, as well as the federal government, municipalities, and others that fund nonprofits on an ongoing basis to address costs, some of which started on January 1, 2018.”
Febria adds that on April 1, 2018, the next phase of the Act will comes into effect. That phase will focus on the equal pay for work of equal value between full-time, part-time, contract, and casual staff.
“This is an area that may require many nonprofits to update their policies and practices. If employees are doing ‘substantially the same work’ [as written in the Act] irrespective of employment status, e.g., part time, casual or contract, employers will be required to pay all employees in that role the same rate of pay,” she says. “Exactly what ‘substantially the same’ means is unclear. The ONN has begun offering a series of Bill 148 preparedness webinars with the support of employment lawyers and what is clear is that ‘substantially the same work’ is not black and white. It can be interpreted in many ways. As a result, while nonprofits understand the purpose and spirit of the Act, it is challenging to understand how this piece of legislation must be implemented.”
Looking ahead, Febria notes that her organization is working closely with the province to support sector organizations that deliver services on behalf of the government in three ways:
- Ensure that funding agreements for 2018-2019 and beyond reflect the increased labour costs associated with Bill 148.
- Provide transitional assistance for 2017-2018 to reflect the estimated increased costs for the last quarter of the current fiscal year (Jan-Mar. 2018)
- Incorporate routine cost-of-living increases into ongoing funding agreements.
“Our advocacy and that of our network members is starting to show results, with several ministries having announced in-year increases and a commitment to explore costs for next year and ongoing as various provisions of the Act take effect. ONN also embedded a Bill 148 ask in a broader request for provincial funding agreements to reflect the real cost of doing business in our pre-Budget submission.”
Latest imp-ACT
Though many feared a negative impact on the Ontario economy due to the minimum wage hike, for the time being at least, those fears are unfounded.
A February 16 Scotiabank client bulletin indicated that the 51,000 job losses in Ontario for in January were not as a result of the new legislation.
In his note, economist Juan Manuel Herrera concludes that “January’s data do not yet imply much of an impact from Ontario’s minimum wage.” However, he notes that employers in the province “may take several months to assess its impact on their bottom lines.”
Herrera cautions: “The full impact of the minimum wage may take several months to pass through to labour market indicators. Hours worked and employment fluctuations in ‘minimum-wage’ occupations and industries should be monitored in coming Labour Force Survey data releases to assess the impact on the Ontario labour market and broader economic repercussions.”
Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf is a professional writer living in Toronto. He can be reached at aajzenkopf@yahoo.com.
Please note: While we ensure that all links and email addresses are accurate at their publishing date, the quick-changing nature of the web means that some links to other web sites and email addresses may no longer be accurate.
