The Ontario government recently passed Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022. Among other things, Bill 88 amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to require employers with 25 or more employees to have a written policy with respect to electronic monitoring of employees. (For more information about Bill 88, see our FTR Now of March 2, 2022, Ontario Introduces Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022).

As we previously noted, employers with 25 or more employees as of January 1, 2022 have until October 11, 2022 to have a written policy on electronic monitoring of employees (Policy) in place. Beginning in 2023, employers who meet the 25 or more employee threshold on January 1 of each year must have a Policy in place before March 1 of that year.

The requirement to have a Policy applies to all employees and employers covered by the ESA except the Crown, a Crown agency or authority, board, commission or corporation whose members are all appointed by the Crown and their employees.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development has also updated its online guide to the ESA to include a chapter on "Written policy on electronic monitoring of employees," which we discussed in our FTR Now of July 25, 2022, Ministry Updates ESA Guide on Electronic Monitoring Policies.

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