Bill 104 explained in plain English
10 Paid Sick Days for Ontario Workers Act, 2023
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 43rd Parliament, 1st 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
Bill 104 replaces Ontario's existing sick leave, family responsibility leave, and bereavement leave rules with a new personal emergency leave entitlement of up to 10 paid days per year for eligible workers and their family members, and establishes a government employer support program.
Bill 104 amends Ontario's Employment Standards Act to change how workers can take time off for health and family matters. The bill repeals the current rules for sick leave, family responsibility leave, and bereavement leave, and replaces them with a new "personal emergency leave" program that gives eligible workers up to 10 paid days per calendar year. These days can be used for the worker's own illness, injury, or medical emergency; the illness, injury, medical emergency, or death of certain family members; or urgent matters involving those family members. Eligible family members include spouses, parents, children, grandparents, siblings, and relatives the worker cares for. Workers employed for less than one week do not receive paid leave but can take unpaid days that count toward their entitlement once they reach one week of employment. Employers cannot require a doctor's note as proof of the need for leave, but can request other reasonable evidence. The bill also increases infectious disease emergency leave from three to 10 days. Additionally, the bill requires the Ontario Minister of Labour to establish an employer support program to help businesses provide this leave, which may include financial support if approved by the legislature.
- Repeals sections 50, 50.0.1, and 50.0.2 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (which provided for sick leave, family responsibility leave, and bereavement leave)
- Creates a new 'personal emergency leave' entitlement allowing eligible workers to take up to 10 paid days per calendar year
- Permits personal emergency leave to be taken for: the worker's own personal illness, injury, or medical emergency; the death, illness, injury, or medical emergency of specified family members; or urgent matters concerning specified family members
- Specifies that eligible family members include spouses, parents, step-parents, foster parents, children, step-children, foster children, grandparents, step-grandparents, grandchildren, step-grandchildren, spouses of children, siblings, and dependant relatives
- Requires workers to notify their employer before or as soon as possible after taking leave
- Entitles workers employed for less than one week to unpaid (not paid) personal emergency leave, which converts to paid entitlement once one week of employment is reached
- Allows employers to count partial days as full days for tracking purposes
- Requires employers to pay workers for paid personal emergency leave using either: the wages they would have earned, or (for workers with performance-related wages) the greater of their hourly rate or minimum wage
- Restricts pay for leave on overtime or premium pay days to the regular rate without shift premiums or overtime pay
- Removes entitlement to premium pay if leave falls on a public holiday
- Permits employers to request reasonable evidence that the leave is justified, but prohibits requiring doctor's certificates
- Requires the Ontario Minister of Labour to implement an employer support program providing resources and supports to help employers provide personal emergency leave
- Permits the employer support program to include financial support to employers if approved by the Ontario Legislature
- Requires the Minister to consult with industry leaders on the program's development and implementation
- Increases infectious disease emergency leave from three paid days to 10 paid days
- Updates the definition of 'regular wages' to exclude personal emergency leave pay from regular wage calculations
- Updates references in section 15(7) of the Act to replace 'sick leave, family responsibility leave, bereavement leave' with 'personal emergency leave'
- Workers in Ontario employed under the Employment Standards Act, 2000
- Workers who have been employed by their current employer for at least one week (eligible for 10 paid days of personal emergency leave per calendar year)
- Workers employed for less than one week (eligible for unpaid personal emergency leave that converts to paid entitlement once one week is reached)
- Employers in Ontario subject to the Employment Standards Act, 2000
- Family members of workers (spouses, parents, children, grandparents, siblings, and dependant relatives) whose circumstances may trigger a worker's personal emergency leave entitlement
- The Ontario Minister of Labour (required to implement an employer support program)
- Industry leaders (to be consulted on the employer support program)
- The Ontario Legislature (which must appropriate funds for any financial support component of the employer support program)
- Eligible workers have the right to take up to 10 paid days of personal emergency leave per calendar year for their own illness, injury, or medical emergency
- Eligible workers have the right to take up to 10 paid days of personal emergency leave per calendar year for the death, illness, injury, or medical emergency of specified family members
- Eligible workers have the right to take up to 10 paid days of personal emergency leave per calendar year for urgent matters concerning specified family members
- Workers employed for less than one week have the right to take unpaid personal emergency leave (which counts toward their future paid entitlement once they reach one week of employment)
- Workers must notify their employer before taking leave or as soon as possible after beginning leave
- Employers must pay workers for taken paid personal emergency leave according to specified wage calculation methods
- Employers must not require a doctor's certificate as evidence of entitlement to leave
- Employers may request reasonable evidence (other than a doctor's certificate) that a worker is entitled to take leave
- Employers may deem a partial day of leave as a full day for entitlement tracking purposes
- The Ontario Minister of Labour must implement an employer support program to assist employers in providing personal emergency leave
- The Minister must consult with industry leaders on the program's development and implementation
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (specific date not stated in the bill text)
- Personal emergency leave entitlement is tracked on a calendar year basis (January 1 to December 31)
- Employers must pay workers for up to 10 days of personal emergency leave per calendar year (amount depends on the worker's regular wages)
- The employer support program may include financial support to reimburse or assist employers with the cost of providing personal emergency leave, but only if the Ontario Legislature appropriates funds for this purpose
- No financial support is guaranteed; the program may provide only resources and guidance without cost reimbursement unless the Legislature approves funding
- The bill text does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties for non-compliance by employers
- The bill does not specify what constitutes 'reasonable evidence' that an employer may request from a worker
- The bill does not specify which qualified health practitioners (beyond physicians, registered nurses, and psychologists) may be prescribed under the definition of 'qualified health practitioner'
- The bill does not specify the scope, resources, or implementation timeline of the employer support program
- The bill does not guarantee that financial support will be available through the employer support program; such support is contingent on the Ontario Legislature appropriating funds
- The bill does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties for employers who fail to comply with the personal emergency leave requirements
- The bill does not specify whether workers can carry over unused personal emergency leave days to subsequent calendar years
- The bill does not detail how the Minister will consult with industry leaders or how that consultation will influence the program design
- The bill text does not specify whether this change applies retroactively or only prospectively from the date of Royal Assent
The Act is amended to replace sick leave, family responsibility leave, and bereavement leave (sections 50, 50.0.1, and 50.0.2) with a consolidated 'personal emergency leave' entitlement of up to 10 paid days per calendar year; updates the definition of 'regular wages' to exclude personal emergency leave pay; increases infectious disease emergency leave from 3 to 10 days; and requires the Minister of Labour to establish an employer support program.
Source: Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Bill 104
The previous sick leave provision is removed and replaced with a new personal emergency leave section allowing up to 10 paid days per year for personal illness, injury, medical emergency, or family matters involving specified family members.
Source: Section 3 of Bill 104
The family responsibility leave provision is removed as it is consolidated into the new personal emergency leave entitlement.
Source: Section 3 of Bill 104
The bereavement leave provision is removed as it is consolidated into the new personal emergency leave entitlement.
Source: Section 3 of Bill 104
The number of paid infectious disease emergency leave days is increased from three to 10 days per year.
Source: Section 4 of Bill 104
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.
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Vote Summary
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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.
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