In this article, we discuss noteworthy developments and trends in employment law from 2021, and what to expect in 2022.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic continued to dominate employment law discourse in 2021, there were several significant statutory and judicial developments, ranging from the expansion of the Bardal factors for assessments of reasonable notice of termination at common law, to punitive and human rights damages awarded to employees as a result of workplace culture issues.
Working for Workers Act
On December 2, 2021, Bill 27, the Working for Workers Act, officially became law in Ontario. While the Working for Workers Act introduced a number of significant workplace-related changes into law, such as establishing a licensing regime for temporary help agencies and recruiters, and implementing specific employment protections for foreign nationals, the changes that garnered the most attention were the requirement of employers to implement a right-to-disconnect policy, and the prohibition on non-compete agreements, subject to only a few exceptions.
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