Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 received Royal Assent on Monday, November 27, 2017 triggering the coming into force of select Bill 148 amendments.

The amendment targeting independent contractor relationships (“No treating as if not employee”, to be section 5.1 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 [“ESA”]) came into force on Monday, November 27, 2017.

The amendment to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) preventing employers from requiring high-heeled footwear in the workplace (with an exception for the entertainment and advertising industry) came into force on Monday, November 27, 2017.

The amendments to the parental leave and critically ill child care leave (now “Critical Illness Leave”) provisions of the ESA will come into force on Sunday, December 3, 2017.

All the amendments to the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”), and many of the remaining amendments to the ESA, are scheduled to come into force on January 1, 2018.

Please see the transition table for a detailed look at each affected ESA, LRA and OHSA provision and the dates on which such amendments come into force.