Ontario’s Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025—Highlights

Quick Hits

• Ontario’s Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025, which received Royal Assent on November 27, 2025, introduces significant amendments to the Employment Standards Act (ESA), the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA).
• Key changes to the ESA include new requirements for online job-posting platforms, job-seeking leave entitlements for employees facing mass termination, and provisions for extended temporary layoffs.
• The OHSA now includes a definition for defibrillators, introduces an administrative penalty scheme for noncompliance, and mandates the equivalency of accredited health and safety systems in public infrastructure projects, while the WSIA imposes stricter penalties for false statements, wage recordkeeping failures, and nonpayment of premiums.

Key amendments to each of these pieces of legislation are summarized below.

Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA)

Job-Posting Platform Accountability (in force from January 1, 2026)

An online job-posting platform for publicly advertised job postings is required to:

• implement a mechanism or procedure for users to report fraudulent job postings and
• have a written policy with respect to fraudulent job postings and post it in a conspicuous place on the platform. A copy of the policy must be retained for three years after it ceases to be in effect.

This requirement does not apply to an employer that advertises job postings only on its own website.

Job-Seeking Leave (in force from November 27, 2025):

• An employee who receives notice of termination of employment as part of a mass termination under s. 58 of the ESA is entitled to three days of leave without pay to obtain new employment.
• An employee shall provide at least three days of advance notice to the employer before commencing the leave.
• The leave will be deemed to have been taken in entire days even if only part of a day was taken off.
• An employer may request reasonable evidence.
• Even if the job-seeking leave is provided in an employment contract, the employee will be deemed to have taken the leave under s. 58 of the ESA.
• The entitlement does NOT apply if the employee is provided with termination pay instead of notice, specifically where the “working notice” period provided is 25 percent or less of the total statutory notice period required.

Extended Temporary Layoffs (in force from November 27, 2025):

• An employer and an employee may agree to a layoff that is thirty-five or more weeks in any period of fifty-two consecutive weeks but may not agree to a layoff of fifty-two or more weeks in any period of seventy-eight consecutive weeks.
• The agreement should be made in writing and should have (a) the latest date the employer intends to recall the employee, and (b) a statement of the nature of the agreement.
• The agreement may NOT be withdrawn by the employee.
• The agreement shall be approved by the director of employment standards.
• A copy of the agreement must be retained for three years from expiry of the director’s approval.

Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)

Clarification on Defibrillator (in force from November 27, 2025):

• The OHSA defines “defibrillator” as an automated external medical heart monitor capable of detecting abnormal heart rhythms, assessing whether defibrillation is required and providing electrical impulses as medically required.
• Employers in the construction industry, which are subject to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, shall be reimbursed for the cost of the defibrillator by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) if they meet specified criteria.
• Regulations may be prescribed to govern the reimbursement process.

Administrative Penalties (in force from November 27, 2025):

• The OHSA introducesan administrative penalty scheme, which will allow inspectors to issue notices of penalty for noncompliance, with the amount of the penalty to be paid in accordance with the regulations.
• A person who receives a notice may request a review, and the designated reviewer can confirm, change, or cancel the notice as set out in the regulations.
• If the fine is paid, the person cannot be charged with an offence under the OHSA with respect to the same contravention.
• If the fine is not paid, it is considered debt to the Crown and may be recovered in accordance with the regulations.

Equivalency of Accredited Health and Safety Systems (in force from November 27, 2025):

The OHSA creates the authority to require public infrastructure project owners, constructors, and employers to treat chief prevention officer-accredited occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMS) as equivalent in procurement processes.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA)

False or Misleading Statements (in force from November 27, 2025):

• An employer is prohibited from making false or misleading statements to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board regarding any claims for benefits.
• Contravention may be subject to an administrative penalty, in addition to any other penalty imposed by a court.

Wage Recordkeeping Penalties (in force from November 27, 2025):

An employer that fails to maintain accurate wage records or produce wage records on request of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board may be subject to an administrative penalty, in addition to any other penalty imposed by a court.

Penalties for Failure to Pay Premiums (in force from November 27, 2025):

• An employer may be guilty of an offence for a failure to pay premiums to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board when due.
• If convicted under this section, the court may also make a restitution order for the person to pay the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board any outstanding amounts owed for any period before the conviction.

Increased Fines for two or more convictions (in force from November 27, 2025):

A person convicted of two or more counts of the same offence in the same legal proceeding may be liable for a fine of up to $750,000 for each conviction.

Aggravating Factors for Employers (in force from November 27, 2025):

The following are aggravating factors when determining a penalty for an employer:

• previous conviction under the WSIA,
• conviction of two or more counts of the same offence in the current proceeding, and
• a record of prior noncompliance with the WSIA.

Ogletree Deakins’ Toronto office and Cross-Border Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the Canada, Construction, Cross-Border, Leaves of Absence, Reductions in Force, Wage and Hour, and Workplace Safety and Health blogs as additional information becomes available.

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