Canadian Payroll Reporter

June 2019

Focuses on issues of importance to payroll professionals across Canada. It contains news, case studies, profiles and tracks payroll-related legislation to help employers comply with all the rules and regulations governing their organizations.

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News June 2019 Published 12 times a year by HAB Press, a Key Media Company Subscription rate: $189 per year Customer Service Email: info@habpress.ca Website: www.payroll-reporter.com 312 Adelaide Street West Suite 800, Toronto, ON M5V 1R2 President Tim Duce Editor Sheila Brawn sbrawn@rogers.com Editor/Supervisor Sarah Dobson News Editor Marcel Vander Wier Sales Manager Paul Burton paul.burton@habpress.ca (416) 649-9928 Circulation Co-ordinator Keith Fulford keith.fulford@habpress.ca (416) 649-9585 Payroll Reporter Can R Can R adian adian a www.payroll-reporter.com ©2019 HAB Press ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-7798-2810-4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher (HAB Press). Return Mail Registration # 1522825 Return Postage Guaranteed Paid News Revenue Toronto Canadian Payroll Reporter is part of the Canadian HR Reporter group of publications: • Canadian HR Reporter — www.hrreporter.com • Canadian Occupational Safety magazine — www.cos-mag.com • Canadian Safety Reporter — www.safety-reporter.com • Canadian Employment Law Today — www.employmentlawtoday.com • Canadian Labour Reporter — www.labour-reporter.com • Canadian Payroll Reporter — www.payroll-reporter.com and overtime pay proposals. A June 7, 1968, article in The Globe and Mail reported that during study of the ESA bill, the NDP proposed reducing maximum weekly hours to 40 and the Lib- erals called for overtime pay to apply after 40 hours. Both amendments were defeated. The overtime and hours of work provisions also included rules specific to female workers. Female employees under age 18 were not allowed to work more than six hours a week of over- time. They were also prohibited from working between midnight and 6 a.m. If adult female employees began or ended work between midnight and 6 a.m., their em- ployer was required to provide them with private transporta- tion to and/or from work, at the employer's expense. In addition to overtime pay, the ESA required employers, for the first time, to pay time-and-a- half to employees who worked on public holidays. The act listed as holidays New Year's Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Dominion Day (later to be- come Canada Day), Labour Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There were no requirements to pay employees who did not work on a holiday. "Ontario has never had le- gally required paid statutory holidays," the June 6 Toronto Star article said. "This is a step to- ward them," it reported a labour spokesperson as saying. The vacation rules required employers to provide employees with at least one week of paid va- cation per year (at two per cent of their pay) after 12 months of employment for the first three years. Afterwards, employees would get two weeks' paid vaca- tion at four per cent of their pay. In 1970, the government amended the act to require two- week vacations after two years of service. Later, it changed the rules to provide employees with two weeks' paid vacation after one year of employment. The two-week vacation stan- dard remained unchanged until last year, when the government amended the act to give employ- ees at least three weeks' paid va- cation after five years. The original ESA also includ- ed provisions requiring equal pay for equal work, which is still in the act today. The provisions prohibited employers from pay- ing female employees less than male employees (or vice versa) if they did the same work, in the same establishment, under the same conditions, and the work required the same skill, effort and responsibility. Like today, the standards then allowed for exceptions for pay differences based on a seniority system, a merit system, a system that measures earnings by quan- tity or quality of production, or any factor other than sex. Prior to being included in the ESA, the equal pay requirements were part of the province's hu- man rights legislation. A May 28, 1968, Globe and Mail article reported Bales as saying the provisions would be better enforced under employ- ment standards law than under human rights legislation. "The Human Rights Com- mission acts only in response to complaints, Mr. Bales noted," said the article. "The field staff of the Labour Department will make regular checks and be in a position to act whenever a viola- tion occurs." Not all employers agreed with the equal pay rules. The June 6, 1968, Toronto Star article included comments from an employer in the garment in- dustry who admitted to paying women less than men doing the same job. "Most men have more highly skilled jobs than women, but even if they don't, 'they still get more,'" said the article, quoting Jack Lipson, president of Mc- Gregor Hosiery in Toronto. "Men tend to make careers in the industry and the firm wants to protect its investment in their skills, Lipson said. 'We try to build their potential more than the women,'" it said. The ESA also included rules for pay statements, which are similar to today's requirements. When employers paid em- ployees, they had to provide a written statement setting out the period for which they were paying the wages, the wage rate, and the amount owing to the employee. The statement also had to show deductions, living allowances or other payments, and net pay. The ESA also included new minimum wage requirements. On Jan. 1, 1969, the province increased the general minimum wage rate from $1 an hour to $1.30, although there had been calls to raise it to at least $2. There were also other mini- mum wage rates for different categories of workers, including workers with no more than four months of work experience, con- struction workers, taxi drivers, students, and employees work- ing in restaurants, hotels and taverns. Over the years, governments have made numerous amend- ments to the ESA to reflect changing societal views and eco- nomic conditions. While employee rights and employer responsibilities have sometimes expanded or shrunk, depending on the political party in power, amendments to the act over the last five decades have generally broadened the scope of the legislation to cover more aspects of the employ- ment relationship. Given how much the act has changed since the late 1960s, one can only wonder what the legis- lation will look like in another 50 years. News Unique provisions for females working nights from ONTARIO on page 3 Numerous amendments have been made to refl ect changing societal views and economic conditions.

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