Between ridesharing, food delivery, courier services, and even grocery shopping, the prevalence of digital platform work continues to grow at an exponential pace. With an unprecedented amount of flexibility, people have found it incredibly convenient to work for digital platform-based companies like Uber, Instacart, or DoorDash either as a primary or supplemental income source. Like anything, however, with growth comes growing pains.

The legislature and courts alike have struggled with categorizing these “gig workers” as either employees of the companies or independent contractors, which is an important distinction when it comes to the rights and responsibilities of the company and the workers. As such, the Government of Ontario passed the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act that comes into effect on July 1, 2025, and establishes a number of protections for people who complete work for these digital platform companies, or “operators” as they are referred to in the legislation.

The Act provides a number of protections for digital platform workers, including:

Right to Information:

Within 24 hours of being provided access to the digital platform, the operator must provide the worker with a description of how pay is calculated, whether and how tips or gratuities are collected, when the scheduled pay periods and pay days are, any factors that determine how work is assigned to workers, and details of any consequences that are based on performance ratings or failure to perform a task.

Right to Recurring Pay Period and Pay Day:

An operator is required to establish a pay period, similar to that of a typical employer, and all earnings during that pay period (including tips, gratuities, bonuses, etc.) must be paid to the worker by the established pay day.

Right to Minimum Wage:

Operators are required to adhere to the minimum wage requirements as provided for in the Employment Standards Act. This requirement applies only to time spent working on an assigned task, and excludes time while waiting for another task to be assigned. This wage is in addition to any tips, gratuities, and other bonuses.

Right to Amounts Earned and Tips and Other Gratuities:

An operator may not withhold any amounts owing to the worker unless required by law. This includes regular wages, as well as tips, gratuities, and other bonuses.

Right to Notice of Removal:

If an operator removes a worker’s access to the digital platform unless the operator provides a written explanation as to why the access was removed. If access is removed for more than 24 hours, the operator must provide written notice two weeks in advance except for willful misconduct, public safety concerns, or legal ineligibility.

Rights regarding Dispute Resolution:

Any work-related disputes between the operator and the worker must be resolved in Ontario, regardless of where the operator primarily operates.

Rights regarding Reprisal:

An operator may not penalize or threaten to penalize a worker because the worker exercises or inquires about their rights under the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act.

Offences Under the Act:

Any corporate operator who fails to comply with the provisions of the Act may be subject to a fine up to $100,000 for a first offence, and increasing fines up to $500,000 for subsequent offences.

Are you wondering how this may affect you or your business when it comes into effect on July 1, 2025? Reach out to one of Barriston Law’s employment lawyers today for a consultation.

Written by Jim Ruddy and Josh Valler

This article is not exhaustive and is intended to provide general information, and should not be relied upon as legal advice.