Category: HR Resources
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Ontario Announces COVID-19 Inspections
To ensure its new rules are being followed at large retail stores, Ontario announced that COVID-19 inspections will begin this weekend. Government inspectors and by-law and police officers will be visiting big-box stores in Toronto, Hamilton, Peel, York and Durham.
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Updated: Which Provinces Have Made Masks Mandatory in Response to COVID-19?
Ed. Note: This post has been updated to reflect changing mask requirements.
Across Canada, provinces have instituted a range of mandatory mask orders in response to COVID-19. Now they are required in most Canadian workplaces.
Typically, where masks are required, there are exemptions for children, workers in areas not accessible to the public and able to maintain physical distancing, those with medical conditions preventing them from wearing masks, and situations when masks must be removed (e.g., treatments, services or physical activities requiring removal or identification). Many jurisdictions also have exemptions for courtrooms or proceedings before an administrative tribunal.
Here’s a quick recap of Canada’s mask requirements.
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Alberta Introduces New Health and Safety Act
In November, Alberta introduced a new Occupational Health and Safety Act (the New Act), which will replace the current Act in its entirety.
The New Act is scheduled to come into force on September 1, 2021. This means that Alberta employers will need to spend the first half of 2021 getting ready for the changes, which cover everything from workplace accidents to health and safety committees to refusing work.* More »
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Are You Privacy Compliant? Penalties and Fines Drastically Increased and Expanded
Changes are coming to Canada’s privacy legislation. The federal government introduced new legislation in Bill C-11 that will replace part of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
The new Act will be called the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, and while it is similar to PIPEDA in many ways, there are some significant changes. Those changes include significantly greater penalties for non-compliance with the Act, as well as some new requirements.
These amendments are important to every organization that collects, uses or discloses personal information in the course of commercial activities, and will apply across the country (subject to exemptions for provinces that have substantially similar legislation).
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Coming Soon: New Federal Workplace Harassment & Violence Regime
If your business or organization is federally regulated (e.g., banks, airlines, shipping, interprovincial trucking), then you need to get ready for new workplace harassment and violence requirements coming into force on January 1, 2021.
Below is a quick review of what you need to know.
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Federal Government Adds New Canadian Benefit Programs for Workers
In response to COVID-19, the federal government launched three new Canadian benefit programs, including a paid sick leave, for workers. Below is a quick review of the programs, what they cover and how to apply.
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COVID-19 Workplace Plans and PIPEDA – Are You Privacy Compliant?
Staying on top of the (almost) daily changes in COVID-19 requirements and guidelines is hard enough, but employers must also think about the privacy issues that go along with their COVID-19 response. Employers must comply with privacy legislation and that means paying attention to how personal information is collected, used and disclosed when an employer implements its COVID-19 response. We’ll talk about some of the key privacy issues to consider.
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COVID-19 Tip #17: Ontario Extends Infectious Disease Emergency Leave
Ontario extended the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave until January 2, 2021. This has implications for non-unionized employees (and their employers) whose hours of work or wages have been temporarily reduced or eliminated due to COVID-19.
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Increases in Minimum Wage Rate
On October 1, 2020 there will be increases to the minimum wage rate in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador. Increases to the minimum wage rate have already taken place in British Columbia (increased on June 1, 2020), New Brunswick (increased on April 1, 2020), Nova Scotia (increased on April 1, 2020) and Quebec (increased on May 1, 2020).
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COVID-19 Tip #16: Ontario Moves to Stage 3
Today, all of Ontario finally moves to Stage 3. This means that most businesses can re-open, provided that they follow requirements contained in a variety of regulations and government policies.