This legal update summarizes recent and upcoming changes to workplace laws and compliance deadlines applicable to Ontario employers.
This update highlights key items from Bill 30, Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025, which received royal assent on November 27, 2025, but it is not an exhaustive summary of this legislation. For more information about Bill 30, see our previous update Ontario Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025 proposes further changes to workplace laws.
Effective November 27, 2025
With the passage of Bill 30, the following workplace law changes are in force as of November 27, 2025.
Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA)
- Job-seeking leave. Employees are entitled to three days of unpaid leave for job searching, interviewing, and training if they receive mass termination notice (required where 50 or more employees are terminated in the same four-week period). However, an employee is not entitled to this leave if the employer provides less than 25% of the required mass termination notice as working notice and instead provides pay-in-lieu of notice. For example, if the required mass termination notice period is eight weeks, the leave is not available if the employer provides less than two weeks of working notice and satisfies the remaining period with pay-in-lieu of notice.
- Temporary layoffs. The maximum period for temporary layoffs has been extended from 13 weeks in any period of 20 consecutive weeks to 35 or more weeks in any period of 52 consecutive weeks provided certain conditions are met. These conditions include agreement to the extended layoff between employer and employee, and approval of the director, employment standards.
Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)
- Equivalency of accreditation. Health and safety management systems accredited under the OHSA will now be treated as equivalents for certain purposes.
- Reimbursement of defibrillator costs. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) will reimburse an employer for the cost of the defibrillator if the OHSA requires the employer to equip the workplace with a defibrillator. The details of such reimbursement are to be determined by future regulation.
- Administrative monetary penalties (AMPs). Ministry of Labour inspectors will be empowered to issue AMPs for contraventions of the OHSA, though the amount of such penalties will be determined by future regulations.
Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (WSIA)
- False or misleading representations. Employers are prohibited from making false or misleading representations to the WSIB regarding any person’s claim for benefits. Violations will be subject to AMPs.
- Failure to pay premiums. This now constitutes an offence under the WSIA.
- Increased fines. A new maximum fine of $750,000 is possible for each conviction for persons convicted of two or more counts of the same offence in the same legal proceeding.
- Aggravating factors. When determining a penalty under the WSIA, previous convictions under the WSIA, a record of non-compliance, and multiple convictions in the same proceeding will be aggravating factors.
Compliance required by January 1, 2026
Job postings and recruitment
As of January 1, 2026, new rules under the ESA will come into effect for job postings and recruitment in Ontario:
- Pay transparency. Job postings must include information about the expected compensation for the position or the range of expected compensation for the position. This requirement will not apply to job postings for positions that have expected compensation equivalent to more than $200,000 annually, or a range of expected compensation that exceeds $200,000 annually. The maximum range of expected compensation that a job posting may include is $50,000.
- Disclosing use of artificial intelligence (AI). Employers that use AI to screen, assess, or select applications for a position must disclose that use in job postings.
- Canadian experience. Employers cannot include any requirements related to Canadian experience in a job posting or any associated application form.
- Vacancy disclosure. Job postings must include a statement disclosing whether the posting is for an existing vacancy.
- Duty to follow up with candidates. An employer must, within 45 days of the last interview with a job candidate, inform the candidate whether a hiring decision has been made.
- Record retention. Employers must retain a copy of each job posting and associated application forms for three years after removal of the posting from public access. Employers must also retain a record of follow-up communications with job candidates for three years.
- Reporting fraudulent job postings. Operators of job posting platforms that host postings for multiple employers will be required to adopt a written policy for addressing fraudulent postings and have a procedure in place for users to report fraudulent job postings.
For more information on these job posting and recruitment rules, see our earlier update “Ontario updates rules on job postings and more.”
Washroom cleaning records
Also as of January 1, 2026, new rules under the OHSA will require employers and constructors to keep records about the cleaning of washrooms accessible to workers. Workers must have access to a record of the time and date of the two most recent washroom cleanings.
Anticipated change: Date undetermined
Adoption and surrogacy leave. Employees that have been employed for at least 13 consecutive weeks will be entitled to a 16-week unpaid leave when they become adoptive parents or parents through surrogacy. This change to the ESA has already been passed through the Ontario legislature but is not yet in force. This change will come into force on a date to be proclaimed by the Ontario government.
The author would like to thank Charbel Azzi, articling student, for his contribution to preparing this legal update.
