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November 27, 2017
Case studies

Substantial Changes to Workers’ Rights

On November 22, 2017, the legislature passed Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017. The Bill makes several changes to employer obligations and employee rights under the Employment Standards Act (the “ESA”).

Millard & Company has been closely following the Bill and written about it here and here.

The final version of the bill includes various amendments to the ESA, such as

Significantly, the Bill also introduces an employee’s right to “equal pay for equal work”. This means that an employer cannot pay employees who are doing “substantially the same” work different rates of pay except in specific situations (e.g. based on seniority). The legislature appears to be targeting the practice of some employers to pay part-time workers a lower rate of pay than full-time workers.

Many of these changes come into force on January 1, 2018.

Millard & Company has extensive experience drafting employer policies to comply with changing legal obligations, as well as supporting employees in seeking their legal entitlements. If you would like to discuss your options, please contact us.

Photo by OFL Communications Department used under CC license.

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"It was an absolute pleasure to work with Ben Millard at Millard & Company Barristers and Solicitors. Before signing on to use his services he took the time to answer any and all questions we had so that we felt confident when choosing him to help us with our legal matter. Once we signed on, this did not change. He was always very quick to answer our questions or address our concerns. He was very quick to let us know our next moves and did not sit on anything which was well appreciated. Would recommend to anyone to use his services. Kind, courteous, and genuinely great person to deal with!"

- M. C.

"Within a day I was connected to Ben Millard and he walked me through the approach and compensation once he understood my circumstances. He negotiated a good deal and it was settled in less than three weeks (would have been faster except for summer holiday). He was always available for questions during the negotiation and will answer questions on any future contracts vis a vis the severance package. With Ben I know I got the best deal i could."

- T. S.

"This is the second occasion for me reaching out to Ben Millard for his employment related expertise. I greatly appreciate Ben’s clear and concise counsel. His ability to distill the relevant and important issues from all the “noise” makes working with him to be efficient and effective. I would not hesitate to recommend him for any employment law matters."

- T. W.