Release date: December 14, 2020

Two bills proposing to amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA") are currently before the provincial legislature, each having passed second reading.  The proposed laws have the potential to impact the condominium community in relation to sick leave and wages for residential workers. 

Notably, Bill 200 seeks to prohibit employers, including condominium corporations, from requiring an employee to provide a sick note to support a sick leave.  Currently, under the Employment Standards Amendment Act (Infectious Disease Emergencies), 2020, an employer may not demand a medical note from an employee who takes infectious disease emergency leave.  However, Bill 200 would permanently ban the requirement to provide a medical note to support a sick leave.  Under the proposed law, employers would still be permitted to require other evidence that an employee needed one or more sick days, such as a note from a family member or caregiver.

In addition, Bill 210 proposes to amend the ESA such that a person who is employed as the superintendent, janitor or caretaker of a residential building and resides in the building is entitled to minimum wage.  If the bill becomes law, room and board for those persons will not be considered part of their wage.  Currently, residential superintendents, janitors and caretakers are among a minority of employees not entitled to minimum wage.  To the extent Bill 210 passes, some condominium corporations will have to increase the compensation paid to their residential superintendents to ensure they receive the mandated minimum wage, in addition to any superintendent’s suite already provided as an employment benefit.

The CCI-Toronto Legislative Committee will continue to monitor the progress of these bills and provide updates, as necessary.

CCI is committed to providing regular ongoing updates regarding all legislation concerning condominiums, in order to keep our members abreast of changes they need to be aware of.