Bill 26 explained in plain English
Domestic and Sexual Violence Workplace Leave, Accommodation and Training Act, 2016
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and the Occupational Health and Safety Act to provide employees with rights to leave, accommodation, and employer-provided training related to domestic and sexual violence.
This bill, known as the "Domestic and Sexual Violence Workplace Leave, Accommodation and Training Act, 2016," makes changes to Ontario's employment and health and safety laws. It introduces new rights for employees who have experienced domestic or sexual violence, or whose children have, including a right to take leave and receive reasonable accommodation from their employer. It also requires employers to provide training on domestic and sexual violence in the workplace. The bill defines "domestic violence," "intimate partner," and "sexual violence." It also includes provisions for how employers must keep information about these leaves and accommodations confidential. The bill will come into effect three months after receiving Royal Assent.
- Amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to establish new provisions for domestic and sexual violence leave and accommodation.
- Amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act to require employers to provide information and instruction on domestic and sexual violence in the workplace.
- Defines "domestic violence," "intimate partner," and "sexual violence" within the context of employment law.
- Establishes an employee's right to take leave if they or their child has experienced domestic or sexual violence.
- Requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to employees experiencing domestic or sexual violence, concerning work hours and workplace location, unless it causes undue hardship.
- Entitles employees to be paid for up to 10 days of leave per calendar year for domestic or sexual violence.
- Mandates that employers keep information related to employee leaves and accommodations for domestic or sexual violence confidential, with specific exceptions.
- Requires employers to ensure managers, supervisors, and workers receive information and instruction about domestic and sexual violence in the workplace.
- Employees in Ontario
- Employers in Ontario
- Managers and supervisors in Ontario
- Workers in Ontario
- Employees have the right to take leave if they or their child have experienced domestic or sexual violence.
- Employees are entitled to up to 10 days of paid leave per calendar year for domestic or sexual violence.
- Employees have the right to reasonable accommodation regarding work hours and location if they are experiencing domestic or sexual violence.
- Employers have a duty to provide reasonable accommodation unless it causes undue hardship.
- Employers must keep information about employee leaves and accommodations for domestic or sexual violence confidential.
- Employers must provide information and instruction on domestic and sexual violence to managers, supervisors, and workers.
- The Act comes into force three months after the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Employees are entitled to be paid for up to 10 days of leave in a calendar year.
- Employers may incur costs related to providing accommodation or training.
- The bill mentions considering 'cost' and 'outside sources of funding' in relation to undue hardship for accommodation.
- The bill refers to 'prescribed duration' and 'prescribed evidence' for leave and accommodation, which would be defined in regulations made under the Act and are not detailed in the provided text.
- The concept of 'undue hardship' for employers in providing accommodation is mentioned but not fully defined.
- The bill specifies that accommodation requirements do not apply if the domestic or sexual violence was committed by the employee.
Introduces provisions for domestic and sexual violence leave, accommodation, and requires employers to retain related documents. It also adds new definitions and rules for leaves related to domestic or sexual violence.
Source: Sections 1, 15, Part XIV, and Sections 49.3, 49.4, 49.5, 49.6, 50, 53.1
Requires employers to provide information and instruction to managers, supervisors, and workers regarding domestic and sexual violence in the workplace.
Source: Section 32.0.5.1
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced