It follows Bill 27, the Working for Workers Act, 2021, that introduced a new requirement for employers to enact policies regarding disconnecting from work effective from 2 June 2022, the prohibition of Non-compete Agreements and the licensing for Temporary Help Agencies and Recruiters.

The Bill introduces a number of relevant innovations with a considerable impact on labour relations that will impact provincially regulated employers and employees in Ontario.

They can be summarised as follows:

• it enacts the new Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022 (DPWRA): aimed to estabilish fundamental rights for workers who perform digital platform work, regardless of whether or not they are an employee of the platform, such as the right to be provided with certain information in writing, to a recurring pay period and pay day, a general minimum wage (now $15 per hour but increasing to $15.50 per hour, effective from 1 October 2022), the notice of removal from an operator’s digital platform, to resolve digital platform work-related disputes in Ontario and to be free from reprisal. It also imposes recordkeeping requirements on digital platform operators. We reported on similar measures adopted by Chile in a recent law in this article.
• It amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA): which removes certain business consultants and information technology consultants from the scope of the Act effective from 1 January 2023 and creates a new requirement for employers with 25 or more employees to have a written policy about electronic monitoring. Employers must comply by 11 October 2022 by adopting appropriate policies. As of January 1st of any subsequent year, employers will have until March 1st of that year to comply. Finally, the Bill expands reservist leave.
• It amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA): the amendments will make significant changes to the OHSA, extending the limitation period for prosecutions from 1 to 2 years and increasing maximum fines for convictions, directors, officers and individuals. The Bill also introduces obligations for certain employers to maintain naloxone kits and comply with related requirements if the employer becomes aware, or ought reasonably to be aware, that there may be a risk of a worker having an opioid overdose at a workplace where that worker performs work for the employer, or where the prescribed circumstances exist.
• It amends the Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act, 2006 (FARPCTA), establishing timelines within which regulated professions must respond to applications for registration from domestic labour mobility applicants unless an exemption is granted from the requirement.

As noted in this analysis by Fasken Law Firm,  "the amendments and novel legislation under Bill 88 are key developments in protecting employees’ rights in Ontario. The Bill may also reflect a growing trend in Canadian employment law that acknowledges and reflects the changing norms of the Canadian labour market".