On April 7, 2022, Ontario’s Bill 88 (the “Bill”) passed third reading in the Legislature and is anticipated to receive Royal Assent in the coming days. As summarized in our previous communique published when the Bill was first introduced, the legislation proposes to enact a new law called the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022, and amends, amongst other legislation, the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) and the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the “OHSA”). Included within the ESA amendments, are new provisions requiring employers with 25 or more employees to implement an electronic monitoring policy.
Revisions to the Bill
Prior to passing third reading, Bill 88 was revised to include additional requirements for digital platform operators to share information pertaining to workers’ performance ratings. Under the new Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022, digital platform operators will be required to provide the following information to workers within 24 hours of completion of a work assignment:
- If a worker receives five or more performance ratings for work assignments on a calendar day, the operator shall provide to the worker the average performance rating for that day.
- If a worker receives fewer than five performance ratings for work assignments on a given calendar day but a total of five or more such ratings over two or more days including that day, the operator shall provide to the worker the average of all the performance ratings received on those days.
- The operator shall provide, if applicable, the aggregate details of the rating referred to in paragraph 1 or 2, whether there are any consequences based on the rating and a description of those consequences.
Coming Into Force Dates
The Digital Platform Workers Rights Act, 2022 will come into force on a day to be proclaimed by the Lieutenant Governor.
The new ESA requirements to implement an electronic monitoring policy will come into force when the Bill receives Royal Assent, and employers will have six months from that date to implement their policies. The new ESA provisions excluding “business consultant” and “IT consultant” from the ESA come into effect on January 1, 2023.
The amendments to the OHSA relating to increased penalties for contraventions of the statute will come into force on July 1, 2022 unless Royal Assent is not received by that time. The amendments relating to the provision of naloxone kits will come into force on a day to be named by proclamation.
Please reach out to your Miller Thomson lawyer to discuss Bill 88’s impact in your workplace.
