The simple answer to that is that any employer currently required to comply with the Ontario Employment Standards Act is also required to comply with the Bill 148 amendments. Bill 148, in other words, has no impact on the scope of ESA coverage; it just deals with the obligations of the employers who ARE covered.
What’s much harder to answer is whether Bill 148 will be repealed. The new Ontario PC government has already pulled the plug on the $15 minimum wage scheduled for Jan. 1, freezing it at the current $14 per hour. Two weeks ago, Premier Ford made a speech talking about repealing Bill 148 in the interest of keeping Ontario businesses “competitive” vis a vis businesses in other jurisdictions not saddled with Bill 148 burdens. Key Qs: Will the Bill 148 changes other than the $15 minimum wage slated for Jan. 1 come off? Will any, some or all of the Bill 148 changes that took effect last Jan. be repealed.
Rest assured that while we don’t know what’s going to happen with Bill 148, we’ll be keeping a close watch on things and will let you know the minute something breaks. Hope that helps and hope I didn’t go on too long. Glenn
