Employment Standards Amendment Act (Wage Security), 2007 Miller, Paul — Bill 6 (39th Parliament, 1st Session)

Bill 6, 39-1

Ontario — Bills

role="main" class="main-container container js-quickedit-main-content" id="main-content">

Bill 6, Employment Standards Amendment Act (Wage Security), 2007

Miller, Paul

Please select

View bill

Status

Debates

Acts affected

Original

[39] Bill 6 Original (PDF)

Bill 6 2007

An Act to amend the

Employment Standards Act, 2000

to provide for an

Employee Wage Security Program

Note:

This Act amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 . For the legislative

history of the Act, see the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes – Detailed

Legislative History on www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

1. The

Employment Standards Act, 2000 is amended by adding

the following Part:

Part XV.1

employee wage Security program

Establishment of Program

Program

established

67.1

(1) The Employee Wage Security Program is hereby

established.

Administrator

(2) The

Lieutenant Governor in Council shall appoint a person to administer the

Program.

Delegation

of authority

(3) The Program Administrator may delegate any of his or

her powers and duties to a person employed at the Ministry.

Legal

proceedings

(4) The Program Administrator, in the name of his or her

office, may bring any proceeding he or she considers necessary in relation to

the Program and he or she may respond to any proceeding in that name.

Testimony

in civil proceedings

(5) The Program Administrator and any person employed at

the Ministry to whom his or her powers and duties have been delegated shall not

be required to testify in a civil proceeding or in a proceeding before any

other tribunal respecting information obtained in the discharge of the Program

Administrator's duties under this Act.

Compensation from the Program

Protected

wages

67.2

(1) The

wages for which an employee may receive compensation from the Program are,

(

a) regular

wages;

(

b) overtime

wages, vacation pay and holiday pay;

(

c) termination

pay and severance pay;

(

d) amounts

that are deemed to be unpaid wages under subsection 42 (5);

(

e) wages

that an employment standards officer has found an employer owes the employee;

(

f) compensation

ordered by an employment standards officer under

section 104; and

(

g) such

additional payments as may be prescribed.

Same

(2) Where the terms of a contractual agreement between an

employer and an employee or his or her agent provide for wages or pay of the

kinds mentioned in clause (1) (

b) in an amount greater than the amount that

would be required under this Act and the regulations, the employee may be

compensated from the Program for the greater amount.

Eligibility

for compensation

67.3

(1) An

employee is eligible for compensation from the Program if,

(

a) in

the case of an employer that is insolvent, the employee has filed a claim for

unpaid wages with the employer's trustee in bankruptcy or court-appointed

receiver;

(

b) an

employment standards officer has made an order that the employer is liable for

wages owed to an employee;

(

c) an

employment standards officer has made an order under

Part XX that a director of

the employer is liable for wages owed to the employee; or

(

d) the

Board has made, amended or affirmed an order that wages or compensation are

owed to the employee.

Deemed

order

(2) For purposes of this Act, any claim described in

clause (1) (

a) that has been verified by the Program Administrator is deemed to

be an order.

Limits on Compensation

Compensation

for partial wages

67.4 If

an employee has been paid wages pursuant to an order and the employee is still

owed wages under the order, the employee is eligible for compensation from the

Program for the balance of wages owed.

Construction workers

67.5

(1) Employees who are entitled to the protection

of a lien under the Construction Lien Act are only

eligible for compensation from the Program if they have used their best efforts

to preserve their lien claim.

Same

(2) If the Program Administrator is satisfied that such

employees could not get sufficient information to preserve their rights, were

unable to preserve them or were unaware of their rights, he or she may allow

the employees to be compensated from the Program in the same manner as any

other employee.

Same

(3) If an employee who is entitled to the protection of a

lien is compensated by the Program, the Program Administrator may require the

employee to subrogate his or her rights in the lien to the Program

Administrator, or may require the employee to assign any judgment arising from

the lien claim to the Program Administrator.

Settlement

of severance pay

67.6

(1) If

a trade union has entered into a settlement agreement with an employer over

severance pay under

section 6, and the employer has paid the severance pay

agreed to, an employee is not eligible for compensation for severance pay from

the Program.

Exception

(2) Despite subsection (1), an employee is eligible for

compensation for severance pay from the Program if an employment standards

officer has made an order under clause 103 (1) (

b) with respect to the

severance pay and it has not been paid and the employer has not applied to have

the order reviewed.

Settlement

of wages

67.7

(1) An

employee who has entered into a settlement under

section 112 in respect of

wages and who has received the amount agreed upon is not eligible for compensation

from the Program for the wages that were the subject of the settlement.

Exception

(2) Despite subsection (1), an employee is eligible for

compensation from the Program for the wages that were the subject of the

settlement if an employment standards officer has made an order under clause

103 (1) (

b) with respect to those wages and they have not been paid and the

employer has not applied to have the order reviewed.

Administration of the Program

Administrator

may approve compensation

67.8

(1) The

Program Administrator may, at any time on or after the day wages are due and

owing, approve compensation for an eligible employee from the Program in

accordance with the entitlements and limitations set out in sections 67.4 to

67.7.

Apportionment

(2) On approving compensation for the employee, the

Program Administrator shall apportion the compensation in such manner as may be

prescribed among the types of wages described in subsection 67.2 (1).

Deductions

(3) On approving compensation for the employee, the

Program Administrator shall deduct from the compensation such amounts as are

required to be deducted by a law of Canada or of Ontario.

compensation when order under review

67.9

(1) If

an employer has applied under

section 116 to have an order referred to in

clause 67.3 (1) (

b) or (

c) reviewed by the Board, the Program Administrator may

approve compensation in respect of the order only if the Board finds that the employer

is liable to pay the wages in question and amends or affirms the order

accordingly.

Exception

– interim order during review

(2) If, during a review, the Board finds that a specified

amount of wages or compensation is owing or there is no dispute that a

specified amount of wages or compensation is owing and affirms or issues an

interim order to the extent of the specified amount, the Program Administrator

may approve compensation from the Program in the amount of the interim order.

Recovery

of overpayments

67.10

(1) If

the amount for which an employee is compensated from the Program exceeds the

wages to which the employee was entitled, the Program Administrator, on the

basis of the prescribed criteria, may seek repayment of the excess amount from

the employee.

Calculation

of excess

(2) For the purposes of this section, the excess amount is

the amount the Program has recovered up to the amount owed under the order less

the compensation already received by the employee.

Subrogate

to Program

67.11

(1) The Program Administrator is subrogated to

all the rights of an employee who is compensated by the Program and may bring

an action against the employer, or any other person who is liable, for wages

and administration costs as determined under subsection 103 (2) or may use the

provisions of this Act to collect the amount.

Assignment

of judgment

(2) The Program Administrator may accept an assignment of

a judgment obtained by an employee in respect of wages as described in

subsection 67.2 (1) and the Administrator may exercise the rights of the

employee under the judgment.

Interest

67.12 Where

money may be received by an employee under this Part, or may be collected from

a person who is liable to pay, interest may be collected at a rate determined

by the Program Administrator.

Agreements

with federal government

67.13 The

Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, may enter

compensation under this Part and the administration of compensation if employees

are entitled to compensation for wages under

an Act of the Parliament of

Canada.

Compensation

not assignable

67.14 No

amount payable as compensation under this

Part is capable of being assigned

except by order or judgment of a competent tribunal under the Family Law Act or by a domestic contract within the

meaning of

Part IV of that Act.

Program Fund

Program

fund

67.15

(1) The Program Administrator shall maintain a

fund to pay compensation for which employees are eligible under the Program and

may charge employers premiums for that purpose.

Sufficiency

of fund

(2) The Program Administrator has a duty to maintain the

fund so that it is sufficient to make the required payments under the Program.

Direction

re sufficiency of fund

(3) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council is of the

opinion that the fund is not sufficient to meet the standard described in

subsection (2), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may direct the Program

Administrator to increase employers' premiums to the extent that the Lieutenant

Governor in Council considers necessary to ensure that the fund meets the

standard.

Employers and their Obligations

Registration

67.16

(1) Every

employer shall register with the Program Administrator,

(

a) within

10 days of the day this

Part comes into force; or

(

b) within

10 days of becoming an employer.

Information

re wages

(2) When registering, an employer shall give the Program

Administrator a statement setting out the total estimated wages that employees

are expected to earn during the current year.

Other

information

(3) When registering and at such other times as the

Program Administrator may require, an employer shall give the Administrator

such information as he or she may request.

Notice

of change of status

67.17

(1) An

employer who ceases to be an employer shall notify the Program Administrator of

the change within 10 days after it occurs.

Information

re wages

(2) The notice from a former employer must be accompanied

by a statement of the total wages earned during the year by all employees up to

the date of the change.

Premiums

(3) A former employer shall promptly pay the premiums for

which the employer is liable up to the date of the change.

Material

change in circumstances

67.18 An

employer shall notify the Program Administrator of a material change in

circumstances in connection with the employer's obligations under this Part

within 10 days after the material change occurs.

Annual

statements

67.19

(1) Every

year on or before the date specified by the Program Administrator, an employer

shall give the Administrator a statement setting out the total wages earned

during the preceding year by all employees and such other information as the

Administrator may request.

Same

(2) Upon the request of the Administrator, the statement

must also set out the total estimated wages that employees are expected to earn

during the current year.

Additional

statements

(3) The Program Administr

Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 6, 39-1
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p39 s1 bill 6 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	d5ed97510096855d44f0798d342ca02a6d3f80d0

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (html).