Bill 27 in Quebec, also known as the Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime (AMOHSR), marks a major turning point for workplaces. As of October 6, 2025, organizations must now include mental health and psychosocial risks in their prevention obligations on par with physical safety.
This shift transforms not only health and safety management but also how organizations approach diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). Bill 27 promotes healthier, safer, and more humane workplaces, a critical issue for both employers and employees.
Its implications for DEIA are both structural and cultural, as they require more inclusive, equitable, and safe practices in all professional settings.
In recent years, several employers – such as Agendrix, a developer of employee management software (schedule planning, timesheet tracking) – have established policies and measures to enhance their employees’ wellness.
“At Agendrix, we have long believed that mental health deserves our attention. Long before Bill 27 came into effect, we had already implemented concrete measures to reduce stress and support our team on a daily basis. This includes 10 wellness days per year, which can be taken without justification, access to the Dialogue virtual health platform, and a stipend for mental health care. We don’t claim to have all the answers, but we strive to create an environment where asking for support is simple, normal, and respected.”—Mathieu Allaire, CEO and Co-founder of Agendrix.
What is Bill 27?
Passed by the National Assembly on September 30, 2021, as “Bill 59” and signed into law on October 6, 2021, the legislation – now known as the “Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime (AMOHSR)” or Bill 27 – represents the most significant reform of the Act Respecting Occupational Health and Safety since 1979. After more than 40 years without major changes, the bill has completely modernized occupational health and safety legislation. Following a phased implementation of provisions related to governance, accountability, and new benefits between 2021 and 2024, the provisions requiring the management of psychosocial risks have become applicable, with associated regulations taking effect on October 6, 2025.
In particular, it requires organizations to:
- Recognize psychosocial risks such as occupational hazards;
- Implement structured prevention measures;
- Train managers and involve employees;
- Document and monitor the actions implemented.
These obligations apply to all businesses with as few as one employee, with stricter requirements for those with 20 or more employees.
Why is Bill 27 important for DEIA?
The main implication of Bill 27 for Quebec employees is greater consideration of mental health and psychosocial risks in the workplace.
Psychosocial risks affect people differently depending on:
- Their identity
- Their cultural or linguistic background
- Their disability
- Their employment status
- Their exposure to discrimination or microaggressions
Thus, Bill 27 reinforces the importance of inclusive and equitable leadership.
It calls on organizations to:
- Recognize that mental health is influenced by the culture of the environment;
- Create safe and inclusive spaces for people from equity-seeking groups;
- Improve communication, workload management, and recognition practices;
- Reduce barriers for people with disabilities;
- Establish clear prevention and intervention policies.
It is also an opportunity to build environments where everyone feels heard, supported, and respected.
For employees, this means in concrete terms:
- Greater protection of mental health: The law expands the scope of protection to explicitly include psychosocial risks (such as stress, harassment, work overload, isolation, and lack of recognition) that can harm mental health.
- New obligations for employers: Employers now have a legal obligation to document and implement measures to prevent these risks in their occupational health and safety (OHS) prevention plans. This should lead to healthier work environments.
- The right to a safe workplace: The employee’s fundamental right to a safe work environment is strengthened to encompass both physical and psychological well-being. The employer must take the necessary measures to protect the worker’s health, safety, and physical and psychological well-being.
- Increased participation: Worker participation in identifying risks and developing prevention measures is a key factor for effective OHS management, which can lead to better communication and improved working conditions.
What psychosocial risks does Bill 27 address?
A major objective is to explicitly expand employers’ obligations to include the protection of workers’ mental health and psychological well-being. Employers are now required to identify, analyze, and implement preventive measures against psychosocial risks.
Psychosocial risks include, in particular:
- Work overload or excessive workload
- Lack of recognition
- Unresolved conflicts
- Psychological or sexual harassment
- Isolation or lack of support
- Ambiguity or role conflict
- Discrimination, incivility, or microaggressions
These factors can lead to stress, distress, relationship tensions, decreased engagement, or prolonged absences.
Employers’ main obligations
To comply with Bill 27, employers must implement a prevention program that includes:
- Identification and assessment of psychosocial risks
This includes gathering information and analyzing job roles, management practices, and the work environment.
- Examples of concrete prevention measures
- Clear policies and processes for conflict management;
- Workload management;
- Manager training;
- Recognition strategies;
- Confidential reporting mechanisms.
- Worker participation
Co-creation fosters a culture of trust, transparency, and inclusion.
- Ongoing monitoring
Measures must be reviewed, documented, and adjusted to maintain their effectiveness.
Non-compliance: severe consequences for employers
There are fines in Quebec for non-compliance with Bill 27, as its implementation includes strict enforcement provisions. Employers may face fines of up to $20,000 for a first offence and harsher penalties for repeat offences, with fines that can double or triple, as well as an increased risk of CNESST interventions and civil lawsuits.
Penalties for non-compliance
For organizations, failure to comply with obligations may result in:
- Fines (up to $20,000 for a first offence);
- Fines doubled or tripled in the event of a repeat offence;
- Additional inspections;
- Corrective orders;
- The risk of civil litigation.
The best protection remains a proactive, well documented, and inclusive approach.
What does this mean for employees?
Bill 27:
- Strengthens the right to a psychologically safe workplace;
- Increases employees’ ability to participate in improving the work environment;
- Protects physical and psychological well-being;
- Promotes more respectful, equitable, and inclusive environments.
The impact of Bill 27 on diversity and equity
By holding employers accountable for psychosocial risks, Bill 27 encourages reflection on workload, autonomy, recognition, and the quality of relationships—factors that are often unevenly distributed based on gender, origin, disability, or employment status. For example, people from visible minority groups or with disabilities are more frequently subjected to harassment, isolation, or a lack of recognition, and the law provides a lever to challenge these inequalities.
Prevention and monitoring obligations can be combined with equal employment opportunity programs and DEIA plans to improve representation, reduce systemic discrimination, and enhance transparency in staff-related decisions. Several Quebec organizations are already integrating the prevention of psychosocial risks into DEIA action plans, including manager training, disability awareness, and analysis of the barriers faced by various target groups.
The impact of Bill 27 on inclusion and accessibility
Bill 27 promotes the establishment of health and safety committees or OSH representatives who participate in identifying psychosocial risks and monitoring prevention measures, thereby creating a formal space for employees – including those from marginalized groups – to voice their realities. Although the bill is not a specific accessibility law, its integration with disability rights laws and accessibility plans is increasingly prompting organizations to consider accessibility (built environment, information, workplace accommodations) as a health and safety requirement.
For people with disabilities, better management of psychosocial risks can reduce isolation, the burden associated with requests for individual accommodations, and the fear of retaliation when they report barriers or harassment. Action plans that integrate DEIA and accessibility support an inclusive approach to designing environments (accommodations, adapted communication, participation in decision-making) that meets both prevention requirements and sustainable inclusion objectives.
For the successful implementation of Bill 27
Organizations that use Bill 27 as a catalyst to review their management practices (recognition, workload sharing, flexibility, accessibility, complaint handling) can turn it into a concrete tool for reducing inequalities and improving a sense of belonging for all employees.
Bill 27 represents a unique opportunity to:
- Recognize the importance of mental health;
- Prevent psychosocial risks;
- Strengthen healthy and inclusive workplaces;
- Support equity and accessibility in the workplace.
This bill is not just a legal obligation. It is a powerful tool for improving collaboration, organizational culture, and everyone’s well-being.
It is essential to foster dialogue to engage our workplaces and communities in discussions about the stress and stigma associated with mental health, as well as to educate and raise awareness. Together, employers and employees can reduce risks.
CCDI offers several educational resources to help you learn how to encourage and facilitate conversations about mental health in your workplace.
- 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion
- Mental health in the workplace
- Neurodiversity
- Trans, non-binary, and gender diverse inclusivity in the workplace
The purpose of Bill 27 is to explicitly integrate mental health on par with physical safety, recognizing psychosocial risks (stress, harassment, overload, sexual violence, isolation, etc.) as occupational hazards. This law is more than an administrative reform: it represents a profound transformation of the culture of prevention in Quebec. For organizations, this is an opportunity to build safer and more inclusive workplaces where health and safety become the pillars of performance and sustainability.
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