Ontario firms are concerned about the wide scope of possible changes to the province's labour and employment laws.
The Liberal government is about to receive recommendations that could lead to the most significant reforms to Ontario's employment laws since the 1990s.
Under the microscope are such possible changes as mandatory sick pay, shifting the threshold for overtime, boosting minimum paid vacation, advance scheduling, and ease of union membership.
Representatives from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce met with provincial Labour Minister Kevin Flynn on Monday to urge the government not to make changes without solid evidence about the costs and benefits.
Premier Kathleen Wynne ordered the review of the province's labour and employment laws in 2015, with a focus on precarious employment and vulnerable workers.
Businesses have been buzzing about the potential reforms since the government's hand-picked special advisers released an interim report last summer, listing more than 200 proposals under consideration. Their final report is to be handed to Flynn in the coming days.
A coalition of employer groups called Keep Ontario Working said in a statement the government "cannot risk public policy changes that would place unintended burdens" on businesses.
Meantime, some reforms being considered include banning replacement workers during strikes and lockouts, allowing domestic workers to join unions, and changing the rules about how unions are formed in certain industries that tend to be non-unionized.
Ontario's Employment Standards Act currently does not require employers to give any paid sick days. The law requires a minimum of two weeks annual paid vacation, and the government's advisers are considering whether to recommend boosting that to three weeks.
