2025 Year in Review Part Two: Legislative Updates, Best Practices & What to Expect in 2026

Welcome to Part Two of our year in review. Employment law continues to evolve at a remarkable pace, often struggling to catch up with social changes. As we hinted in Part One, in Ontario this evolution is frequently packaged with the government’s Working for Workers Acts, which has now reached its seventh version. In Part Two, we dive into legislative updates across Canada and discuss what to expect in 2026.

Our team recorded a two-part year-end episode of Fire Away in which we discussed many of these topics. We encourage you to check it out.

TLDR: Staying current with legislative changes is essential, as non-compliance can result in unnecessary costs.

In 2025 we saw several important changes:

• Ontario: Introduced mandatory information requirements for new hires, new clean washroom standards under the OHSA, and new protected leaves (Long-Term Illness Leave and Placement of a Child Leave). It also enacted the Digital Platform Workers Rights Act to provide gig workers with minimum wage and notice protections.
• British Columbia: Employers can no longer require doctors’ notes for short-term absences. BC also introduced a Serious Illness Leave and classified gig workers as employees for statutory protections.
• Alberta: Increased long-term illness leave to 27 weeks starting January 1, 2026. It also mandated a combined workplace violence and harassment plan and is reforming civil litigation to expedite the process substantially.
• Federally-Regulated Workplaces: Implemented new pregnancy loss and expanded bereavement leaves; plans to restrict non-compete agreements in the future.
• What to Expect in 2026: Starting January 1, 2026, Ontario employers with 25+ employees must comply with strict job posting rules, including pay transparency (disclosing salary ranges), disclosing the use of AI in hiring, and “anti-ghosting” requirements.
• More Legislative Updates: Ontario’s Working for Workers Seven Act introduced protections against fraudulent job postings and grants employees a three-day job-seeking leave during mass terminations. It also increased WSIA penalties for misleading statements to a maximum of $750,000.
• AI & Future-Proofing Your Workplace: To maximize AI benefits while avoiding discrimination or privacy claims, employers should implement clear AI policies and practices, including oversight and training.
• Changes to the Rules of Civil Procedure: Ontario is reviewing significant proposals to overhaul its civil litigation process. The goal is to bring cases to a hearing within two years, with substantial impact on employment law cases if implemented.

Legislative Updates

Legislative updates range from administrative requirements to significant new job-protected leaves. For employers, staying current is essential because the legal landscape today is incredibly different than it was even five years ago, and relying on outdated contract templates or assumptions is one of the biggest sources of potential liability.

Ontario

Key changes introduce new administrative requirements and expanded protections for employees across the province. Here is a breakdown of the major legislative updates from 2025:

Mandatory Information Requirements For New Hires

Effective July 1, 2025, Ontario employers with 25 or more employees are now required to provide specific information to new hires, in writing. This information must be shared before the employee’s first day of work, or as soon as reasonably possible thereafter.

Employees must be provided with the following:

• The legal and operating names of the employer.
• Employer contact information, including address and telephone number.
• A general description of the initial work location.
• The wage or commission rate, along with the established pay period and payday.
• A general description of the initial anticipated hours of work.

The easy way to comply with this new requirement is by including all of these details directly in the employment agreement. As always, employers should ensure they receive an employee’s signed employment agreement before the employee’s first day of work.

Clean Washroom Requirements

In a surprising but important update to Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (the “OHSA”), new standards for washroom facilities took effect on July 1, 2025. Ontario employers and constructors are now legally obligated to ensure that washrooms provided for workers are maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.

Organizations should also be aware that additional recordkeeping requirements regarding washroom maintenance are set to come into effect on January 1, 2026. These records generally involve information regarding the latest cleanings. Health and safety policies should be updated immediately to reflect these new standards.

The Digital Platform Workers Rights Act

After being in limbo for several years, Ontario’s Digital Platform Workers Rights Act officially came into force on July 1, 2025. This legislation is designed to protect gig workers (such as those working for Uber or Door Dash) who may have previously lacked protections under the Ontario Employment Standards Act (the “ON ESA”) due to their status as contractors.

Key protections now enshrined in law include:

• A minimum wage for time spent on assignment.
• The requirement for a recurring pay period and prohibitions against unauthorized deductions.
• The requirement to provide certain information to workers, such as how compensation is calculated, pay periods, and how performance rating systems work (if applicable).
• Mandatory notice requirements of two weeks if a worker is being removed from the platform for more than 24 hours, unless they have engaged in willful misconduct.

Expect similar legislation to be enacted in other jurisdictions, as provinces seek to protect gig workers.

Ontario Introduces New Protected Leaves

Two significant job-protected leaves were introduced under the ON ESA in 2025:

Long-Term Illness Leave: Effective June 19, 2025, employees with at least 13 weeks of service are entitled to up to 27 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 52-week period for a serious medical condition. This must be confirmed by a medical certificate and represents a massive increase from the previous three-day unpaid sick leave entitlement.

Placement of a Child Leave: This new leave provides up to 16 weeks of job-protected time off following the arrival of a child into an employee’s care through adoption or surrogacy. While introduced in 2025, the specific effective date for this leave is still pending.

As these laws continue to evolve, it is essential for Ontario employers to move beyond assumptions and ensure their contracts and policies are updated to reflect the current legal reality.

British Columbia

Over the past year, we saw changes to BC’s Employment Standards Act (the “BC ESA”) aimed at expanding employee rights and protecting gig workers. While BC’s legislation does not have a catchy name like “Working for Workers”, there was significant overlap in priorities.

No More Doctors’ Notes

Effective November 12, 2025, BC employers may no longer require doctors’ notes for short-term health-related leaves lasting fewer than five consecutive days, for up to two such absences. These short-term leaves may relate to an employee’s own health or that of immediate family. Medical documentation may still be requested for absences exceeding five consecutive days, or where an employee has already used two short-term health-related leaves.

New Serious Illness or Injury Leave

Similar to Ontario’s Long-Term Illness Leave, as of November 28, 2025, employees in BC are entitled to a Serious Illness or Injury Leave of up to 27 weeks in a 52-week period. The leave does not need to be taken consecutively and may be used intermittently. Access to the leave requires confirmation from a medical professional.

BC Expands Protections for Gig Workers

Like Ontario, BC has enacted statutory protections for gig workers. Unlike Ontario, BC has expressly classified these workers as employees for the purposes of the BC ESA and the Workers’ Compensation Act. As a result, platform operators must now comply with minimum employment standards and provide workers’ compensation coverage for eligible workers.

Alberta

Alberta also made notable employment law changes in 2025, expanding leave entitlements and introducing measures to improve workplace safety and streamline litigation for less complex claims, including wrongful dismissal cases.

Extended Long-Term Illness Leave

Effective January 1, 2026, amendments to Alberta’s Employment Standards Code will increase the maximum long-term illness and injury leave from 16 weeks to 27 weeks per calendar year, aligning Alberta with Ontario and BC.

Combined Workplace Violence and Harassment Plan

Effective March 31, 2025, Alberta employers must implement a single, combined workplace violence and harassment prevention plan. This streamlines previous obligations by requiring one comprehensive plan. Employers must also adopt enhanced protections for employees working in late-night retail environments, including safe cash-handling procedures, personal emergency transmitters, restricted public access, and video surveillance.

Alberta Continues Civil Litigation Reform

Alberta has introduced measures to speed up civil litigation. Effective for actions commenced on or after September 1, 2025, parties in non-complex cases must agree on and file a litigation plan within four months of the Statement of Defence, setting a target trial date no more than 36 months out, with few narrow exceptions. Failure to file can result in penalties under Alberta’s Rules of Court. These changes build on earlier reforms, including the replacement of summary trials with streamlined trials as of January 1, 2024. Alberta’s reforms signal a strong move toward faster, more predictable timelines for litigation, similar to Ontario’s proposed reforms.

Federally-Regulated Workplaces

As of December 12, 2025, the Canada Labour Code (the “CLC”) provides new pregnancy loss and bereavement leaves. Federally-regulated employees experiencing a pregnancy loss (or whose spouse/common-law partner does) are entitled to three days of paid leave, while stillbirths allow up to eight weeks of unpaid leave. Bereavement leave for the death of a child, spouse, or partner has also increased to eight weeks, up from 10 days.

A new, unpaid, 16-week adoption or surrogacy leave, is also expected in 2026. This leave will be in effect in conjunction with upcoming Employment Insurance changes providing benefits for adoptions and surrogacy.

Finally, the federal government has announced plans to restrict non-compete agreements in federally regulated workplaces. Specific amendments are not yet released, but we will monitor these developments closely and keep you updated.

Looking Ahead: What to Expect in 2026

Ontario: New Job Posting Rules

As of January 1, 2026, new job posting requirements will apply to Ontario employers with 25 or more employees and will affect publicly advertised job postings; i.e., those shared externally with the general public.

• Pay transparency: employers must include the expected compensation or range in postings, provided the range does not exceed $50,000 annually. Exempt if compensation exceeds $200,000.
• Employers may not require “Canadian experience” in postings or application forms.
• Postings must disclose if artificial intelligence is used to screen, assess, or select candidates.
• Postings must indicate whether they reflect an existing vacancy, reducing “phantom” job postings.
• Anti-ghosting: interviewed applicants must be informed within 45 days whether a hiring decision has been made, via email or other reasonable means.
• Employers must keep job postings, applications, and interview decision records for three years.

Ontario employers should review hiring policies, update posting templates, and train staff involved in recruitment now. We have already assisted several clients with compliance and are happy to help.

More Legislative Updates

In Ontario, the Working for Workers Seven Act received Royal Assent in November and introduced further changes to the ESA, OHSA, and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (“WSIA”).

Ontario – ESA Updates:

• Fraudulent job postings: job platform operators (e.g., Indeed, Monster, Glassdoor) must have a process to report fraudulent postings and maintain a written policy addressing those reports.
• Job seeking leave: if 50+ employees receive termination notice within 4 weeks, they are each entitled 3 days of unpaid, job-protected leave to search for new employment.
• Extended layoff option: employers and employees may agree to a layoff exceeding 35 weeks in a 52-week period (but less than 52 weeks in 78 weeks) with approval from the Director of Employment Standards, expanding the current layoff framework.

Ontario – OHSA Updates: introduction of a reimbursement program for employers required to maintain a defibrillator under the WSIA, and a new administrative penalty regime for OHSA violations.

Ontario – WSIA Updates: employers face administrative penalties for false or misleading statements to the WSIB. Fines can reach $750,000 per conviction for multiple offences in a single proceeding.

Gig workers: new gig worker protections in Ontario and BC reflect a trend. We expect other provinces to follow suit and enact similar protections for gig workers. Follow our blog for updates.

These changes reflect a continued trend toward greater transparency, stronger enforcement, and increased employer accountability. Now is the time to review policies and ensure compliance.

AI & Future-Proofing Your Workplace

AI is here to stay, and employers are already using it in employee and customer support, recruitment and hiring, and performance management. When deployed thoughtfully, AI can boost efficiency and decision-making; if used carelessly, it can expose employers to liability for privacy breaches, discrimination claims, and cause morale issues. Employers remain responsible for the decisions AI tools make, so understanding the risks is critical. We recommend the following as best practices to optimize AI use: 

• Implement clear AI policies: set expectations, require anonymization of confidential data, and use closed systems to protect privacy.
• Give advance notice: let employees know when AI tools are being introduced so they can prepare and adapt.
• Provide training: train employees on how to use AI to enhance productivity and offload menial tasks, without replacing meaningful work.
• Human oversight: assign a team or individual to review AI output for accuracy and compliance.
• Monitor impact: track employee feedback, morale, and turnover to ensure AI supports rather than undermines your personnel.

The bottom line is that AI should augment employees, not replace them. With proper training, policies, and oversight, employers can unlock AI’s benefits while managing legal and workplace risk – think Iron Man and JARVIS, not The Terminator.

Changes to Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure

Ontario is considering a major overhaul of its civil litigation system. Proposed reforms include eliminating examinations for discovery, using an up-front evidence model with early sworn witness statements, simplifying pleadings and service, narrowing documentary disclosure, and introducing active case management, mandatory mediation, and a new summary hearing process. The goal is for most cases to reach a full hearing within two years of the lawsuit commencing.

For employment disputes, these changes could mean lower costs, faster timelines, and a realistic path to trial, reducing pressure to settle simply to avoid delays. The proposals are under review, with potential implementation as early as next year. We will continue to monitor how this process unfolds and will be sure to keep you updated on our blog.

Pith and Substance

Some parting advice: while we can fill pages with tips, updates, and best practices, the best advice for employers and employees is to always consult with HR counsel. We don’t say this to be self-serving; the reality is that employment law has many twists and turns, and not receiving good, strategic advice is an easy way to incur unnecessary costs.

We help employees protect their rights and maximize their entitlements. Similarly, we help employers give themselves flexibility, cost certainty and predictability. 

It is almost always more costly to fix a problem after the fact than it would be to prevent it. As the old saying goes, if you think you need an employment lawyer, you probably do!

Remember to check out our two-part year-end Fire Away, where we cover many of these topics.

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