Amendments to various pieces of workplace legislation implemented under the Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025 recently received royal assent and came into effect. In particular, amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”), the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”), and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (the “WSIA”) came into effect on November 27, 2025, and include a new job-protected leave, extended layoffs in certain circumstances, and new offences and/or penalties under the OHSA and WSIA.
Additionally, the Ontario government has made a number of new regulations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the “OHSA”) which came into effect on January 1, 2026. These changes include new defibrillator requirements for construction projects, reimbursement for the cost of such defibrillators, new washroom-cleaning record obligations, public sector procurement requirements, and regulations supporting the new administrative monetary penalty (“AMP”) scheme under the OHSA.
Amendments to the ESA
Job Seeking Leave
Ontario employees who have been dismissed as part of a “mass termination” (i.e., where an employer terminates the employment of fifty (50) or more employees at the employer’s establishment in the same four-week period) are now entitled to up to three (3) days of unpaid Job Seeking Leave. The purpose of this new leave is to permit such employees to engage in “activities related to obtaining employment, including job searches, interviews, and training” following the receipt of a notice of dismissal.
In terms of exceptions, employees are not entitled to this leave if their employer provides them with at least 75% of their termination notice entitlement as “pay in lieu of notice” (and 25% or less of it as “working notice”).
Extended Layoff Agreement
Employers are now permitted to place non-unionized employees on temporary layoffs of up to 52 weeks in a 78-week period, subject to the employees agreeing to it and the employer receiving approval from the Director of Employment Standards. Otherwise, the ESA only permits employers to place employees on temporary layoff for up to 13 weeks in a 20-week period (if their benefits are not continued), or up to 35 weeks in a 52-week period (if their benefits are continued).
Amendments to the WSIA
Employers are now expressly prohibited from making a false or misleading statement to the WSIB in connection with any person’s claim for WSIB benefits. Previously, it was only an offence for a person to knowingly make such false or misleading statements—suggesting that employers may be strictly liable even when they did not intentionally make false or misleading statements.
Employers who violate this prohibition may be subject to an administrative penalty, in addition to any penalty imposed by a court. The government has also amended O. Reg 175/98: General under the WSIA to prescribe the amount of the administrative penalty for breaching this prohibition to be: (i) $5,000 for the first, second, and third contraventions; (ii) $7,500 for the fourth, fifth, and sixth contraventions; and (iii) $10,000 for each subsequent contravention.
The amendments also made it an offence for an employer to fail to pay required WSIB premiums and allow the government to prescribe administrative monetary penalties for employers that fail to pay required premiums or breach the WSIA’s requirements related to keeping and producing records regarding employee’s wages (the amounts of which have yet to be prescribed).
Further, persons repeatedly convicted of an offence under the Act can now be fined up to $750,000 for each conviction, and “aggravating factors” have been prescribed to include previous convictions under the WSIA, multiple convictions in the proceeding to which the penalty rates apply, and records of other prior non-compliance with the WSIA.
Amendments to the OHSA & New Regulations
New Defibrillator Requirements and Reimbursement for Construction Employers
Effective January 1, 2026, construction projects with at least 20 or more workers that are expected to last at least 3 months are required to have automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on site pursuant to amendments to O. Reg 213/91: Construction Projects. Further, this regulation includes specific requirements related to items which must be stored with the defibrillator, the storage location, related signage, worker training, periodic testing, and inspection records.
Relatedly, employers required to have AEDs on site can now obtain reimbursement for the costs of the AEDs from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (“WSIB”), pursuant to the new s. 22.0.1(2) of the OHSA and O. Reg 360/25: Reimbursement for Defibrillators. Employers may be reimbursed up to $2,500 and applications for reimbursement must be made by no later than July 31, 2027.
New Washroom Cleaning Record Requirements
As of January 1, 2026, all employers are now required to keep, maintain, and make available records of the cleaning of washroom facilities that the employer makes available for use by workers. Further, employers must post such records in a conspicuous place in or near the washroom where it is likely to come to the attention of workers, or they must post them electronically and provide workers with directions on how they can be accessed. These new record keeping obligations supports the requirement for employers to maintain such washroom facilities in a clean and sanitary condition under sections 23.1 and 25.3 of the OHSA.
New Public Sector Procurement Process Requirements
Effective January 1, 2026, public sector employers procuring vendors to perform construction work are subject to a new equivalency requirement for such procurements under O. Reg. 364/25: Health and Safety Management Systems and Procurement. In particular, where such procurement processes include an eligibility requirement requiring a health and safety management system accredited by the Chief Prevention Officer, all health and safety management systems accredited by the Chief Prevention Officer must be treated as equivalents for all purposes related to the procurement process or procurement contract (but only as it relates to construction work). In other words, the public sector employer cannot treat bidding vendors differently based on them having different health and safety management systems where those systems are each accredited by the Chief Prevention Officer. Additionally, impacted public sector employers are now required to keep any records related to such procurement processes for construction work for at least two years.
New Administrative Penalty Scheme
A new administrative penalty scheme for health and safety violations has now been implemented via a new Part IX.1 under the OHSA,under which inspectors are empowered to impose administrative penalties against any person for contravening the requirements of the OHSA,via a notice of administrative penalty. The government established the procedural rules for this AMP scheme via O. Reg 365/25: Administrative Penalties, which came into effect on January 1, 2026 and includes payment deadlines, a review process, enforcement provisions, and a limitation period.
The Bottom Line
Overall, many of the amendments discussed above signal more stringent enforcement against employers who breach the requirements of the OHSA and/or WSIA, given that there are new offences, new administrative penalties, and increased maximum fines. Accordingly, it is as important as ever for employers to ensure that they stay up to date on the ever-changing statutory requirements applicable to their business, to ensure statutory compliance and avoid costly enforcement actions.
If you have any questions regarding the proposed amendments discussed above or require assistance with navigating your Company’s statutory obligations under the ESA, OHSA, and/or WSIA,please do not hesitate to contact us for expert legal advice and guidance.
