Ontario planning to amend work rules for restaurant and hospitality employees
Building on his “Big Blue Collar Machine” that helped win a second Progressive Conservative majority, Premier Doug Ford’s government is proposing labour reforms aimed at providing more protections against unpaid work.
Changes to the Employment Standards Act would prohibit unpaid trial shifts for restaurant and hospitality workers and toughen rules against deducting money from paycheques when customers “dine and dash” or “gas and dash.”
“No worker should be asked to offer their services for free,” Labour Minister David Piccini said Tuesday.
“While Ontario’s laws generally require employees to be paid for all hours worked and prohibit paid deductions, the fact is that unpaid trial shifts and punitive deductions for stolen property are still common in the restaurant and service industry,” he added.
“The fear of wages being withheld has led to tragic consequences, including a worker being injured or worse while trying to stop someone from running out on their meal or not paying at the pump.”
Piccini made the comments at a restaurant in Liberty Village in Toronto before introducing the proposed changes in the legislature.
The Workers’ Action Centre, which advocates for low-wage workers, said illegal deductions from pay are “widespread” and faulted the government for not taking stronger steps to crack down on employers who break the law in this regard.
“One reason this kind of wage theft continues is the failure of the Ontario government to invest in claims investigations and proactive enforcement of the law,” the centre said in a statement calling for more employment standards officers to do timely investigations into wage disputes and unpaid work such as trial shifts.
“The government has also failed to impose penalties for wrongdoing that act as a deterrent to employers who violate the law and who know workers have less power and security to enforce their workplace rights.”
New Democrat MPP Jamie West (Sudbury) said the measures would provide “incremental help” to some workers but maintained the government is missing the bigger picture.
Many workers do not have paid sick days as COVID-19 continues to circulate and Ford’s Bill 124, which limits annual wage increases for most public-sector workers to one per cent, continues to suppress pay packets while the government challenges a court ruling that struck it down.
“It’s all about how, as a Conservative government, they can get in the headlines that they’re working for workers without moving the metrics that much further,” said West, who plans to propose legislation next week banning employers from using replacement workers during strikes and lockouts.
Under the government reforms, employers would be required to post a notice in the workplace if they have a policy of sharing and pooling tips for later distribution to workers, and employers who pay tips using direct deposit must put the money into accounts chosen by the workers. This is to avoid digital payment apps that take a cut.
As the Star reported last week, the legislation also includes measures to ban employers from asking for Canadian work experience and ease provincial immigration eligibility requirements, allowing international graduates from one-year college programs to qualify for permanent residence.
In addition, salary ranges would have to be posted to boost transparency, and businesses would be required to reveal if they are using artificial intelligence in their hiring process — a measure aimed at concerns over privacy and data collection.
The Workers’ Action Centre said it is already illegal under the Human Rights Code for employers to ask applicants about previous Canadian work experience, but the practice remains widespread and the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario — where any complaints would be made — is “woefully understaffed” with a backlog of cases.
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