2024 Year In Review: A Look Back At The Top Cases And Key Legislative Changes That Impacted Your Workplace

• Published date: 19 February 2025
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Health & Safety, Employee Rights/ Labour Relations
• Law Firm: CCPartners
• Author: Ms Baldeep Bhathal

2024 has been a year of significant developments and noteworthy changes in the area of labour and employment law. Throughout the year, CCPartners has been keeping employers updated on these important labour and employment developments through our Employers' Edge blog and our Lawyers for Employerswebinars and podcast.

We are now pleased to provide a recap of the key cases and legislative changes from the past year, along with links to our original blogs for further reading.

Legislative Changes

• On March 21, 2024, Bill 149, Working for Workers Four Act 2024received Royal Assent in Ontario. The Bill amended several workplace law statutes:
• • Amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 included changes to the definition of an employee, wage deduction rules, how payment for tips or gratuities can be made, how vacation pay must be paid, and what must be included in advertised job postings.
  • Amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 included new super indexing provisions and a presumption in respect of primary-site esophageal cancer for firefighters and fire investigators.
  • Amendments to the Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act, 2022 included allowing regulations to prescribe new limits on pay periods and rules for determining compliance with the minimum wage requirements.
  • Amendments to the Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act, 2006 included that prescribed requirements must be met to determine whether a regulated profession assesses qualifications in a way that is transparent objective, impartial and fair.
• On May 6, 2024, Bill 190, Working for Workers Five Act 2024was introduced in Ontario. It received Royal Assent on October 28, 2024. The Bill amended several workplace law statutes:
• • Amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 included changes to what evidence can be required for entitlement to a sick leave under the Act, an increase to the maximum fine for an individual convicted under the Act, new requirements as to what must be included in publicly advertised job postings and what information must be provided to applicants after job interviews.
  • Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act included changes to the definition of workplace harassment and workplace sexual harassment, where joint health and safety committee meetings can occur, and how copies of the OHSA and explanatory materials can be posted.
  • Amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 included new presumptions regarding PTSD and primary-site skin cancer in certain professions.
• On October 9, 2024, Bill 68, An Act mainly to reduce the administrative burden of physicians, received royal assent in Quebec. Bill 68 introduced amendments to the Act respecting labour standards (the "ALS") and the Act to promote access to family medicine and specialized medicine services. These amendments included changes regarding when employers can require a medical certificate attesting to the reasons for an absence.
• On November 27, 2024, Bill 229, Working for Workers Six Act 2024was introduced in Ontario. It received Royal Assent on December 19, 2024. The Bill amended several workplace law statutes:
• • Amendments to...