Employment Standards Amendment Act (Temporary Help Agencies), 2015 Malhi, Harinder — Bill 143 (41st Parliament, 1st Session)

Bill 143, 41-1

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Bill 143, Employment Standards Amendment Act (Temporary Help Agencies), 2015

Malhi, Harinder

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[41] Bill 143 Original (PDF)

Bill 143 2015

Act to amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 with respect to temporary help

agencies

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

1. Subsection

74.1 (1) of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 is

amended by adding the following definition:

"licence" means a licence issued or renewed under this

Part; ("permis")

2. The

Act is amended by adding the following sections before the heading "Obligations

and Prohibitions":

Licensing

Licence

required

74.4.0.1 No

person shall carry on the business of a temporary help agency unless the person

has a licence.

Application

for licence

74.4.0.2

(1) A

person may submit an application to the Director for a licence.

Application

documents

(2) The applicant shall submit an

application to the Director in the manner required by the Director and shall

give the Director any information and documents he or she requires and pay the

prescribed fee.

Withdrawal

of application

(3) The applicant may withdraw the

application at any time before the licence is issued.

reimbursement

(4) If the applicant withdraws the

application, the applicant shall not be reimbursed for payment of the

prescribed fee.

Issuance

of licence

(5) The Director

shall issue a licence to an applicant who agrees to abide by this Act and who satisfies

the prescribed requirements, if any, for the licence unless the Director

believes, on reasonable grounds, that the applicant is not suitable to be

licensed, having regard to any prescribed circumstances and any other matters that

the Director considers appropriate.

Conditions

(6) The Director may impose conditions on a

licence when it is issued.

Term

of issued licence

(7) A licence expires one year after the day

it is issued.

Application

to renew licence

74.4.0.3

(1) A

person who has a licence may apply to the Director to renew the licence.

Application

documents

(2) The

applicant shall submit the application for renewal to the Director in the

manner required by the Director and shall give the Director any information and

documents he or she requires and pay the prescribed fee.

Deadline

(3) The

application for renewal must be made within the prescribed period or, if no

period is prescribed, before the expiry date of the licence.

Effect

of application

(4) If

the application for renewal is submitted to the Director by the deadline

described in subsection (3), the applicant's current licence continues in

effect after the expiry date until the Director notifies the applicant that the

Director has renewed or refused to renew the licence.

Withdrawal

of application

(5) The applicant may withdraw the

application for renewal at any time before the licence is renewed.

reimbursement

(6) If the applicant withdraws the

application for renewal, the applicant shall not be reimbursed for payment of

the prescribed fee.

Report

(7) If the applicant is applying to renew a

licence that has not previously been renewed, the applicant shall submit the

following information with the application for renewal:

1. The

number of hours worked by each assignment employee for each client of the

applicant's temporary help agency for each work week in the previous six-month

period.

2. A

declaration that certifies the applicant's temporary help agency is in

compliance with this Act and that is signed by the applicant or, if the

applicant is a corporation, a director or officer of the applicant.

Renewal

(8) The

Director shall renew the licence of an applicant who agrees to abide by this

Act and who satisfies the prescribed requirements, if any, for the licence

unless the Director believes, on reasonable grounds, that the applicant is not

suitable to be licensed, having regard to any prescribed circumstances and any

other matters that the Director considers appropriate.

Conditions

(9) The

Director may impose conditions on a licence when it is renewed.

Term

of renewed licence

(10) A licence expires three years after

the day it is renewed.

Suspension

or revocation by Director

74.4.0.4

(1) The

Director may, by order, suspend or revoke a licence,

(

a) if

the licensee ceases to satisfy the prescribed requirements for the licence;

(

b) if

the licensee does not carry on the business of a temporary help agency for a

period of at least 90 days;

(

c) if

the Director believes, on reasonable grounds, that the licensee is no longer

suitable to be licensed, having regard to the circumstances, if any, prescribed

for the purposes of subsection 74.4.0.2 (5) or 74.4.0.3 (8) and any other

matters the Director considers appropriate;

(

d) if

the licensee contravenes or fails to comply with a requirement or prohibition

under this Act;

(

e) if

the licensee contravenes or fails to comply with a condition imposed on his or

her licence; or

(

f) in

any other prescribed circumstances.

Effect

of suspension

(2) During

a suspension, the licensee shall not carry on the business of a temporary help

agency.

Revocation

(3) The

Director may revoke a suspension order at any time.

Licence

not transferable

74.4.0.5 A licence is not

transferable.

3. The

Act is amended by adding the following sections before the heading "Reprisal by

Client":

Wage

to be 80 per cent of fee charged

74.11.2 A temporary help

agency shall pay an assignment employee who is assigned to perform work for a

client a wage that is at least 80 per cent of the amount that the temporary

help agency charges the client for the assignment of the assignment employee,

as determined under the regulations.

Semi-annual

report from temporary help agency

74.11.3

(1) A

temporary help agency shall give the Minister a report,

(

a) every

year on or before September 1, with respect to the first six months of the

year; and

(

b) every

year on or before March 1, with respect to the last six months of the previous

year.

Form

and content

(2) The

report must be in the form authorized by the Minister and shall include the

following information:

1. The

number of hours worked by each assignment employee for each client of the

applicant's temporary help agency for each work week in the six-month period.

2. A

declaration that certifies the applicant's temporary help agency is in

compliance with this Act and that is signed by the applicant or, if the

applicant is a corporation, a director or officer of the applicant.

3. Any

other prescribed information.

False

information

(3) A

temporary help agency shall not knowingly furnish false information in a report

to the Minister.

Employer

Prohibition

more than 25 per cent of staff to be assignment employees

74.11.4

(1) Every

employer shall ensure that the total number of hours worked by assignment

employees in a work week does not exceed 25 per cent of the total number of

hours worked by all employees, including assignment employees, in that work

week.

Exemption,

fewer than 10 employees

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an

employer with fewer than 10 employees.

Exemption,

temporary increase in business

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to an

employer who experiences a temporary increase in business volume, as defined in

the regulations.

Exemption,

application to Director

(4) An employer may apply to the Director

for an exemption from compliance with subsection (1).

Required

information

(5) An application for an exemption shall

be in a form approved by the Director and shall be filed together with any

information, materials and evidence the Director considers necessary.

Power

to exempt

(6) After receiving an application for an

exemption, the Director may exempt the applicant from compliance with

subsection (1).

Section

141 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Regulations

Part XVIII.1

(2.5) The

Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,

(

a) governing

the issuance, renewal, suspension and revocation of licences issued under

Part

XVIII.1;

(

b) governing

the manner of calculating the wage that a temporary help agency must pay an

assignment employee for the purposes of

section 74.11.2;

(

c) governing

the calculation of the percentage of hours worked by assignment employees for

the purposes of subsection 74.11.4 (1);

(

d) defining

"temporary increase in business volume" for the purposes of subsection 74.11.4

(3).

Commencement

5. This

Act comes into force six months after the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short

title

6. The

short title of this Act is the Employment Standards

Amendment Act (Temporary Help Agencies), 2015 .

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to

establish a licensing regime for temporary help agencies and to require them to

pay their employees at least 80 per cent of the amount the agency charges its

clients for the employees' services. It also requires employers to ensure that

no more than 25 per cent of the hours worked by their employees are performed

by assignment employees.

Temporary

help agencies are prohibited from operating without a licence. The procedure

for applying for a licence from the Director is set out. The Director also has

the power to suspend and revoke licences.

Temporary

help agencies must pay their employees at least 80 per cent of the fee they

charge to their clients for the employees' services. Temporary help agencies

have to submit a semi-annual report to the Minister that declares they are in

compliance with this requirement.

Employers

must ensure that no more than 25 per cent of the total number of hours that are

worked by their employees are performed by assignment employees. There are

exemptions from this requirement for employers with fewer than 10 employees and

employers that have experienced a temporary increase in business volume.

Employers can also apply to the Director for exemption from this requirement.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

December 3, 2015

Ordered referred to Standing Committee

Standing Committee on Justice Policy

December 3, 2015

Second Reading

Carried

December 3, 2015

Second Reading

Debate

November 18, 2015

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

November 18, 2015

Committee

Second Reading

December 3, 2015

Ms. Harinder Malhi, Mr. Robert Bailey, Mr. Jagmeet Singh, Mr. Vic Dhillon, Mr. Harinder S. Takhar, Ms. Cheri DiNovo

December 3, 2015

Declared carried. Referred to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy.

Committee

Standing Committee on Justice Policy

Third Reading

Royal Assent

Acts affected - Bill 143

Most Ontario public acts are available electronically; to view copies of the Acts to be amended by this bill visit e-laws

Employment Standards Act

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

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Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 143, 41-1
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p41 s1 bill 143 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	47b732121d5385165825ba45dfb025bb09c71c73

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