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OntarioDid not become law (session ended)43rd Parliament, 1st Session

Bill 11 explained in plain English

Speaking Out About, and Reporting On, Workplace Violence and Harassment Act, 2022

Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.

At a glance

Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature
Legislature / Parliament
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Session
43rd Parliament, 1st Session
Bill number
Bill 11
Full title
Speaking Out About, and Reporting On, Workplace Violence and Harassment Act, 2022
Current status
Did not become law (session ended)
Latest event
Ordered for Second Reading
Last updated
Aug 23, 2022

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.

Chamber
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Current Stage
Ordered for Second Reading
Latest Activity
Aug 23, 2022
Plain-language explanation
In plain English (our explanation)

Our plain-language take, written for civic education.

Source: By PoliticalData.ca

AI-assisted, reviewed before publishing
Short Version

Bill 11 amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act to protect workers who report workplace violence and harassment from reprisals and requires hospitals and long-term care homes to publicly report such incidents monthly.

What It Means

This bill, known as the Speaking Out About, and Reporting On, Workplace Violence and Harassment Act, 2022, aims to enhance protections for workers who report or speak out about workplace violence and harassment. It also requires hospitals and long-term care homes to publicly report on incidents of workplace violence and harassment. The Act amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

What This Bill Does
  • Amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act to protect workers from reprisal when they report or speak out about workplace violence and harassment.
  • Specifies that reprisals include measures that adversely affect a worker's employment, such as termination, demotion, discipline, suspension, or intimidation.
  • Requires employers that are hospitals and long-term care homes to publicly report the number of workplace violence incidents on their website at least once a month.
  • Requires employers that are hospitals and long-term care homes to publicly report the number of workplace harassment incidents on their website at least once a month.
  • Repeals and substitutes provisions in the Occupational Health and Safety Act to clarify protections against reprisals for workers.
  • Clarifies that a reprisal is any measure taken against a worker that adversely affects their employment, and lists examples of such measures.
Who Is Affected
  • Workers in Ontario
  • Employers in Ontario
  • Hospitals in Ontario
  • Long-term care homes in Ontario
  • Occupational health and safety committees and representatives
Rights, Duties, Or Obligations
  • Workers have the right to speak out about and report workplace violence and harassment without fear of reprisal.
  • Employers have the obligation to not take reprisals against workers for reporting or speaking out about workplace violence and harassment.
  • Hospitals and long-term care homes have the obligation to publicly report monthly on incidents of workplace violence.
  • Hospitals and long-term care homes have the obligation to publicly report monthly on incidents of workplace harassment.
Important Dates
  • The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
Financial Or Tax Impacts
  • The bill does not explicitly mention any new taxes or financial impacts.
Enforcement Or Penalties
  • The bill amends provisions related to reprisals, which are acts taken against a worker that adversely affect their employment. Specific penalties for contraventions are not detailed in the provided text.
Uncertainties Or Limits
  • The bill does not specify the exact format or location of the website reporting for hospitals and long-term care homes, other than that it must be on 'its website'.
  • While the bill defines what constitutes a reprisal, it does not detail the specific enforcement mechanisms or penalties for employers found to have taken reprisals, beyond the general framework of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
  • The bill refers to 'incidents of workplace violence and workplace harassment' but does not provide a specific definition of what constitutes an 'incident' in this reporting context.
Laws Or Regulations Affected
Occupational Health and Safety Act
amends

This bill amends sections of the Occupational Health and Safety Act to add new reporting requirements for hospitals and long-term care homes regarding workplace violence and harassment, and to strengthen protections for workers who report such issues.

Source: Sections 1, 2, and 3

Occupational Health and Safety Act, Section 32.0.2
amends

Adds a requirement for hospitals and long-term care homes to report the number of workplace violence incidents on their website at least monthly.

Source: Section 1

Occupational Health and Safety Act, Section 32.0.6
amends

Adds a requirement for hospitals and long-term care homes to report the number of workplace harassment incidents on their website at least monthly.

Source: Section 2

Occupational Health and Safety Act, Subsection 50 (1)
repeals and substitutes

Replaces the existing provision with a broader definition of reprisal and clarifies that workers are protected from reprisal for various actions related to reporting or addressing workplace violence and harassment.

Source: Section 3

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 text

Process Snapshot

Step 1
First reading
Aug 23, 2022
Step 2
Second reading
Date not listed
Step 3
Committee review
Not reached yet
Step 4
Third reading
Not reached yet
Step 5
Royal assent
Not reached yet

Vote Summary

No published recorded division

This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.

Sponsor
France Gélinas
New Democratic Party of Ontario | Nickel Belt
Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature

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