Ontario has implemented a comprehensive new set of labor laws through the Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025, continuing a multi-year effort to modernize employment standards across the province. Officially receiving Royal Assent on November 27, 2025, this legislation introduces targeted amendments to three foundational statutes: the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA). The changes address contemporary workplace challenges, from the rise of online job platforms to the need for stricter health and safety enforcement. For employers and employees alike, these updates signify a new era of rights, responsibilities, and accountability, reshaping the fundamental dynamics of the modern workplace in Ontario by introducing new entitlements and strengthening compliance mechanisms.
New Protections Under the Employment Standards Act
In an effort to protect job seekers from deceptive employment opportunities in the digital age, the legislation imposes new duties on online job-posting platforms, effective as of January 1, 2026. These platforms are now mandated to establish and maintain a conspicuous and easily accessible mechanism for users to report job postings they believe to be fraudulent. Furthermore, they must develop a formal written policy detailing their procedures for handling such fraudulent listings and post it publicly on their platform. To ensure a clear record of compliance, a copy of this policy must be retained for three years after it is no longer in effect. This new requirement is specifically aimed at third-party job aggregators and boards, exempting employers who advertise job openings exclusively on their own corporate websites from these specific obligations. This move places the onus on intermediaries to help police the digital job market.
A significant new right has been established for employees facing large-scale layoffs, providing them with dedicated time to secure future employment. As of November 27, 2025, an employee who receives a notice of termination as part of a “mass termination” event is now entitled to three days of unpaid leave. The explicit purpose of this leave is to facilitate their search for a new job. To exercise this right, an employee must provide their employer with at least three days of advance notice. The legislation clarifies that the leave is to be taken in full-day increments, and an employer may request reasonable evidence to verify that the leave is being used for its intended purpose. This statutory entitlement supersedes similar contractual provisions, although it does not apply in cases where the employee is provided with termination pay in lieu of a working notice period that is 25 percent or less of the required statutory duration.
The Act also introduces revised parameters for agreements between employers and employees concerning extended temporary layoffs. Effective November 27, 2025, employers and employees can mutually agree in writing to a layoff period of thirty-five weeks or more within any fifty-two-week period, providing greater flexibility. However, this flexibility is not unlimited, as the agreement cannot extend to a layoff of fifty-two or more weeks within any seventy-eight-week period. For such an agreement to be legally valid, it must specify the latest date the employer intends to recall the employee and must be submitted to and approved by the director of employment standards. A critical detail of this provision is that once made, the agreement cannot be withdrawn by the employee. Employers are also required to retain a copy of the approved agreement for three years following its expiration, ensuring a clear and verifiable record of the arrangement.
Strengthening Workplace Health and Safety
The updated Occupational Health and Safety Act now includes several key amendments designed to improve on-site emergency preparedness and standardize safety protocols. A formal definition of a “defibrillator” has been codified into the law, specifying it as an automated external medical device capable of detecting abnormal heart rhythms and administering electrical impulses as needed. In conjunction with this clarification, the Act mandates that employers in the construction industry who are covered by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, shall be reimbursed by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) for the cost of acquiring a defibrillator. This measure is intended to increase the availability of life-saving equipment on construction sites. The specific criteria and process for this reimbursement will be further detailed in forthcoming regulations, ensuring a structured rollout of the program.
A substantial enhancement to OHSA enforcement is the introduction of a new administrative penalty system, which became effective on November 27, 2025. This framework empowers ministry inspectors to issue notices of penalty for noncompliance with the Act, with the monetary amounts to be set by regulation. This provides a more immediate and direct consequence for violations without resorting to formal prosecution. A person who receives such a notice has the right to request a review by a designated official who can confirm, alter, or cancel the penalty. Importantly, this system includes a provision that prevents double jeopardy; if a person pays the administrative fine, they cannot be subsequently charged with an offense under the OHSA for the same contravention. This change aims to streamline enforcement and encourage quicker compliance with health and safety standards across the province.
Enhancing Accountability in Workplace Insurance
Amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act introduce stricter measures to deter fraud and enforce compliance. As of November 27, 2025, employers are explicitly prohibited from making any false or misleading statements to the WSIB in connection with benefit claims. An employer found to have violated this rule can be subjected to an administrative penalty, which can be levied in addition to any other penalty that a court may impose. Similarly, employers that fail to maintain accurate wage records or fail to produce those records upon the WSIB’s request are now also subject to administrative penalties. These new financial deterrents are designed to ensure that employers provide accurate and timely information, which is critical for the proper administration of the workplace insurance system and the fair adjudication of claims for injured workers.
The legislation also elevates the seriousness of financial noncompliance by making the failure to pay required WSIB premiums a formal offense. An employer convicted under this new section can be compelled by a court-issued restitution order to pay the WSIB all outstanding amounts owed for any period prior to the conviction. To further discourage repeat offenses, the Act introduces significantly higher fines. A person convicted of two or more counts of the same offense within a single legal proceeding may now be liable for a fine of up to $750,000 for each individual conviction. This substantial increase in potential penalties sends a clear message that systemic or repeated avoidance of financial obligations under the WSIA will not be tolerated and will be met with severe consequences.
A New Landscape of Employer Responsibility
The enactment of this legislation codified a more stringent and accountable workplace environment. It established clearer responsibilities for online job platforms and provided vital support for employees during mass layoffs. The framework for temporary layoff agreements was refined, offering flexibility but with enhanced oversight. In the realm of health and safety, the introduction of administrative penalties created a more agile enforcement mechanism, while new mandates for defibrillators and safety management systems aimed to prevent workplace tragedies. The amendments to the workplace insurance system addressed long-standing issues of noncompliance and fraud through significantly increased fines and the criminalization of premium evasion. Ultimately, these integrated reforms signaled a decisive shift, creating a legal landscape where employer obligations were more rigorously defined and enforced than ever before.
