We are approaching the end of the year – so, it must be time for our 2024 year in review! This is our 4th year end review. Read our earlier posts for recaps of HR compliance developments in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Similar to past years, Compliance Works reported on hundreds of changes to employment laws this year. In our 2024 year in review, we look at 5 key HR compliance trends – all of which have ongoing implications for employers across Canada.
- Sick Leave – For the 4th year in a row, sick leave tops our list of legislative changes. Unlike past years, when the focus was on paid (short-term) sick leave, in 2024, we saw governments add long-term sick leaves and restrictions on medical notes.
- Work from Home – With many workers continuing to work from home from home – either full-time or in hybrid work arrangements – some provinces updated laws to ensure they take into account this new era of work.
- Employer Transparency – Governments continued to pass laws requiring employer transparency in job postings and workplace expectations.
- Workplace Harassment and Violence – While workplace harassment and violence laws are not new, several provinces expanded or strengthened their laws in this area.
- Accessibility – For years, only Manitoba and Ontario had employment-related accessibility laws. Several provinces passed accessibility legislation in the past year, suggesting that employer accessibility obligations may grow.
#1 Sick Leave
In 2022, the federal government amended the Employment Insurance Act (EI) to increase EI sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks. At the time, the only province with a comparable long-term illness leave entitlement was Quebec with 26 weeks of annual leave for employee sickness or accident. As part of our 2024 year in review, we see that several provinces responded to the change to EI by adding or expanding long-term medical leaves of absence:
- Manitoba increased its sick leave from 17 to 27 weeks;
- Nova Scotia added a 27-week unpaid leave for serious illness, plus a 5-day unpaid leave for employees who are sick or injured (in force on January 1, 2025);
- Newfoundland and Labrador added an unpaid annual leave of up to 27 weeks for employees to recover from a long-term illness or injury;
- Saskatchewan introduced legislation to extend its serious illness leave to 27 weeks;
- PEI passed an entirely new Employment Standards Act (still to be proclaimed), which includes an unpaid 27-week medical leave;
- Ontario recently introduced Bill 229, which will create a 27-week unpaid leave of absence for employees who have a serious medical condition (includes chronic or episodic conditions).
While long-term illness leaves typically require employees to provide medical evidence, Ontario and Quebec made changes restricting an employer’s ability to request medical notes for short-term sick leaves. Similar changes are coming to Saskatchewan and PEI. These amendments are aimed at reducing the administrative burden on healthcare providers.
Final Thoughts: With the increase to EI sickness benefits, we expect to see more provinces implement long-term medical leaves. (This is similar to what happened when the federal government extended the time period for collecting EI parental benefits. Provinces responded by amending their employment standards legislation to extend parental leave entitlements.) Employers should watch for changes in Alberta, British Columbia, and New Brunswick.
#2 Work from Home
When the pandemic created a new era of remote work, many employers asked about the application of health and safety laws to employees working from home. While most provinces’ health and safety legislation did apply to work from home (or left the issue open-ended), the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) specified that the Act did not apply to work performed at a private residence.
Ontario Bill 190 recently amended the OHSA to specify that the Act applies to telework performed at a private residence. “Telework” is not defined in the Bill, but the general understanding is this means remote work/work from home. So, that means that OHSA requirements, such as health and safety training, policies and general employer duties, now apply to Ontario employees working from home.
Typically, remote and hybrid work by its nature requires employees to work online. Bill 190 also updated various health and safety requirements to ensure that they reflect the online nature of work, including:
- permitting health and safety committees to meet virtually;
- permitting employers to post certain information in electronically;
- clarifying that workplace harassment and sexual harassment includes virtual harassment.
Final Thoughts: Given that remote work appears to be here to stay, we may see other provinces update their legislation to make it clear that it applies to employees working from home.
#3 Employer Transparency
We have reported on new laws promoting employer transparency in earlier posts, including requirements governing disconnect from work and electronic monitoring policies, and pay transparency.
This trend continued in 2024 with Ontario’s new job posting rules, which are scheduled to come into force on January 1, 2026. These new employer disclosure obligations will require employers with 25 or more employees to include the following information in job ads:
- expected compensation or a range of expected compensation;
- any use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the screening, assessment, or selection of applicants;
- whether the posting is for an existing vacancy.
In addition, an Ontario employer will have to provide any interviewees with a status update regarding hiring decisions.
In 2024, the federal government also followed Ontario’s lead by passing amendments requiring federal employers to implement a disconnect from work policy. These new policy provisions, which are not yet in force, require employers to develop a policy in in consultation with employees that outlines their expectations regarding work-related communications outside of scheduled hours of work.
Final Thoughts: HR laws promoting employer transparency have been very popular with Canadian governments for the last few years. In 2025, it is likely that Ontario employers will be subject to another round of transparency requirements – in the form of new job ad posting rules. We may also see other provinces follow Ontario’s lead, introducing legislation requiring disconnect from work and electronic monitoring policies, and disclosure of information during the hiring process.
#4 Workplace Harassment & Violence
Most provinces have workplace harassment and violence laws, establishing proactive and reactive requirements that employers must meet in order to protect the psychological well-being of workers.
Historically, Quebec did not have a workplace harassment and violence regime similar to what we see in other provinces (i.e, requiring detailed policies, training and investigations). In an effort to establish stronger protections for employees, Quebec passed Bill 42 in 2024 – instituting more detailed requirements respecting psychological harassment and sexual violence for employees working in the province. These new requirements include:
- an expanded definition of psychological harassment (e.g., to take into account harassment from “any person” and isolated sexual violence events);
- a policy statement on psychological harassment prevention and complaint processing;
- employee training programs;
- protection from reprisals for employee complainants.
Nova Scotia also recognized the importance of employee psychological well-being, as it amended its legislation to specify that health and safety includes “both physical and psychological health and safety”. The province also added a new provision, requiring employers to establish and implement a harassment policy. This change doesn’t come into force until September 2025, as further details respecting what must be included in the policy will be provided in future regulations.
Final Thoughts: Since the pandemic, employee psychological well-being and mental health has become an increasing focus of HR departments. Workplace harassment and violence laws establish the baseline for employers to follow.
#5 Accessibility
Building on efforts to promote employee well-being, more provinces have passed accessibility legislation this year or began developing employment-related accessibility standards.
In 2024, New Brunswick passed a new Accessibility Act, establishing a framework for the development of future accessibility standards. While New Brunswick is the latest province to move forward with accessibility legislation, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Saskatchewan established similar accessibility framework legislation last year.
Nova Scotia, which has had accessibility legislation for several years, but no employment standards, has finally published recommendations for employers. These recommendations, including workplace accessibility policies, recruitment processes, job accommodation, training, performance management and return-to-work protocols, may form the basis of future regulations.
Final Thoughts: To date, only Ontario and Manitoba have accessibility requirements for the private sector. While provinces like BC and Nova Scotia seem to be prioritizing accessibility in the public sector, there does appear to be interest in promoting greater accessibility across Canada. All employers should watch for new accessibility obligations.
2024 Year in Review Made Easy
Compliance with constantly changing employment laws can be challenging and time consuming. Compliance Works software tracks amendments to laws in real-time, ensuring that our subscribers are the first to know about critical HR law changes that will affect their day-to-day business. If you need a quick recap, Compliance Works makes it easy to create your own 2024 year in review – focusing on what’s important to your business!
Contact us to Request a Demo or email us at info@complianceworks.ca to learn how a subscription to Compliance Works can help your HR team succeed.
