Several 2024 amendments to the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) will be implemented in summer 2025, and more new requirements will take effect starting in 2026. Below is a detailed overview of these changes, organized by their effective dates. Employers in Ontario may want to note these deadlines and update their processes and policies accordingly.
Quick Hits
- Starting June 19, 2025, employees in Ontario with at least thirteen consecutive weeks of employment will be entitled to an unpaid leave of absence for up to twenty-seven weeks in a fifty-two-week period for serious medical conditions certified by a qualified health practitioner.
- Effective July 1, 2025, Ontario employers would be required under the amended law to provide new employees with specific employment information in writing before their first day of work, including the employer’s legal name, the employer’s contact information, the employee’s work location, the employee’s starting wage rate, the company’s pay period, and the anticipated hours of work.
- Beginning January 1, 2026, employers in Ontario with more than twenty-five employees are required under the amended law to disclose the range of expected compensation, disclose the use of AI in hiring, confirm if a job posting is for an existing vacancy, and are prohibited from requiring “Canadian experience.”
Changes Effective June 19, 2025
Long-Term Illness Leave
Under the amended law, employees with at least thirteen consecutive weeks of employment will be entitled to an unpaid leave of absence for up to twenty-seven weeks in a fifty-two-week period if they have a serious medical condition certified by a qualified health practitioner.
The law does not require that the weeks of leave be taken consecutively. Employees may extend the leave within the same fifty-two-week period by submitting another medical certificate if the condition extends beyond the initial duration noted in the original certification and the twenty-seven-week period has not yet been exhausted.
This new leave does not amend existing obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code and any contractual leave entitlements or disability benefits plans and policies.
This new leave is in addition to the regular three-day sick leave, for which employees are not required to provide a medical note.
The newly amended law requires employers to retain related records for three years after the leave expires.
Changes Effective July 1, 2025
New Rules About Employment Information
Employers will now be required to provide new employees with the following information in writing, prior to the employee’s first day of work or as soon as reasonably possible thereafter:
- the employer’s legal name (and operating or business name, if different);
- the employer’s contact information (including address, telephone number, and one or more contact names);
- the location from which the employee will be performing work;
- the employee’s starting wage rate or commission, as applicable;
- the applicable pay period/pay day; and
- a general description of the employee’s anticipated hours of work.
This requirement does not apply to employers with fewer than twenty-five employees or to assignment employees.
Changes Effective January 1, 2026
Effective January 1, 2026, employers with more than twenty-five employees that are posting jobs are required to disclose the range of expected compensation and use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the hiring process and confirm whether the job posting is for an existing vacancy. The amended law prohibits employers from requiring applicants to have “Canadian experience.”
The amendments require employers that interview applicants for publicly advertised jobs to provide information about the status of the hiring process within forty-five days of interviews or, if the employer interviews applicants more than once, within forty-five days of the last interview.
Employers may want to ensure these changes are implemented by the relevant deadlines, and that the relevant policies are updated accordingly.