Amendments to Labour Standards Act improve on existing whistleblower protection: province
Saskatchewan has strengthened whistleblower protection for employees with the passing of Bill 86, the Labour Standards Amendment Act.
The act, which received first reading in the fall, was passed this week. It goes into force when it receives royal assent, but a date hasn’t yet been set.
In the fall, Deb Higgins, Saskatchewan’s labour minister, said the amendments “further protect workers who report illegal acts from retribution or retaliation. They also provide the director of labour standards with the legal authority to enforce this section directly instead of requiring a potentially lengthy and expensive court case.”
The province said the amendments will:
•Clarify that an employee can report violations of federal and provincial laws to a direct or indirect supervisor of the employee, as well as to a law enforcement agency.
•Allow the director of labour standards to investigate and issue a decision respecting an employee's complaint of wrongful dismissal or discrimination as a result of reporting an illegal activity. Under the proposed amendments, the director of labour standards can order the employer to:
•cease any discriminatory activity toward the employee;
•restore the employee to his previous position;
•pay any wages that the employee lost as a result of the employer's violation of s. 74; and
•allow the employee or employer to appeal the decision of the director of labour standards to independent adjudicators.
"We introduced these amendments to improve on existing protection to whistleblowers through the Labour Standards Act, which currently offers more protection for employees than in most other parts of Canada," Higgins said.
The amendments
Bill 86 will make a number of changes to the province’s Labour Standards Act, including s. 74 — the area that deals with whisteblower protection. Essentially, it added a clause prohibitng an employer from taking any reprisals against employees. It also defined what “lawful authority” is as referenced in s. 74(1)(a).
The new areas are highlighted in bold below:
Once it receives royal assent, s. 74 will read:
74(1) No employer shall discharge or threatent to discharge, take any reprisal against or in any manner discriminate against an employee because the employee:
(a) has reported or proposed to report to a lawful authority any activity that is or is likely to result in an offence pursuant to an act or an act of the Parliament of Canada; or
(b) has testified or may be called on to testify in an investigation or proceeding pursuant to an act or an act of the Parliament of Canada.
74(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the actions of an employee are vexatious
74(3) In this section, ‘lawful authority’ means:
(a) any police or law enforcement agency with respect to an offence within its power to investigate;
(b) any person whose duties include the enforcement of federal or provincial law with respect to an offence within his or her power to investigate; or
(c) any person directly or indirectly responsible for supervising the employee.
The act, which received first reading in the fall, was passed this week. It goes into force when it receives royal assent, but a date hasn’t yet been set.
In the fall, Deb Higgins, Saskatchewan’s labour minister, said the amendments “further protect workers who report illegal acts from retribution or retaliation. They also provide the director of labour standards with the legal authority to enforce this section directly instead of requiring a potentially lengthy and expensive court case.”
The province said the amendments will:
•Clarify that an employee can report violations of federal and provincial laws to a direct or indirect supervisor of the employee, as well as to a law enforcement agency.
•Allow the director of labour standards to investigate and issue a decision respecting an employee's complaint of wrongful dismissal or discrimination as a result of reporting an illegal activity. Under the proposed amendments, the director of labour standards can order the employer to:
•cease any discriminatory activity toward the employee;
•restore the employee to his previous position;
•pay any wages that the employee lost as a result of the employer's violation of s. 74; and
•allow the employee or employer to appeal the decision of the director of labour standards to independent adjudicators.
"We introduced these amendments to improve on existing protection to whistleblowers through the Labour Standards Act, which currently offers more protection for employees than in most other parts of Canada," Higgins said.
The amendments
Bill 86 will make a number of changes to the province’s Labour Standards Act, including s. 74 — the area that deals with whisteblower protection. Essentially, it added a clause prohibitng an employer from taking any reprisals against employees. It also defined what “lawful authority” is as referenced in s. 74(1)(a).
The new areas are highlighted in bold below:
Once it receives royal assent, s. 74 will read:
74(1) No employer shall discharge or threatent to discharge, take any reprisal against or in any manner discriminate against an employee because the employee:
(a) has reported or proposed to report to a lawful authority any activity that is or is likely to result in an offence pursuant to an act or an act of the Parliament of Canada; or
(b) has testified or may be called on to testify in an investigation or proceeding pursuant to an act or an act of the Parliament of Canada.
74(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the actions of an employee are vexatious
74(3) In this section, ‘lawful authority’ means:
(a) any police or law enforcement agency with respect to an offence within its power to investigate;
(b) any person whose duties include the enforcement of federal or provincial law with respect to an offence within his or her power to investigate; or
(c) any person directly or indirectly responsible for supervising the employee.
