Changes in payroll laws and regulations from across Canada
Alberta
Reminder: Minimum wage to hit $15
On Oct. 1, the Alberta government will raise the general minimum wage rate from $13.60 an hour to $15.
The rate for specified salespersons will increase from $542 per week to $598 and the rate for domestic employees who live in their employer’s residence will rise from $2,582 a month to $2,848. Specified salespersons include sales employees who sell automobiles, trucks, buses; farm machinery; heavy duty construction equipment or road construction equipment; mobile homes; and residential homes (if they work for the home builder).
They also include salespersons working for a commercial agent licensed under the Licensing of Trades and Businesses Act, as well as commission-based salespersons (excluding route salespersons) who generally work outside of their employer’s place of business to sell orders that will be delivered later.
WCB proposing changes to its funding policy
The Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) is proposing changes to its funding policy to address the way it handles excess funds.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, the WCB proposes to divide its accident fund, which is used to pay for all costs in the workers’ compensation system, into two components: a worker benefit fund and a safer workplaces development fund. Funding for the workers’ compensation system comes from employer premiums.
The worker benefit fund would pay for current and future benefits to injured workers and the dependants of those who have died on the job. The board proposes to maintain its current funding target range of 114 per cent to 128 per cent for the new fund.
By law, the board must keep the accident fund fully funded, meaning that the total of all of its assets equals or surpasses 100 per cent of its total liabilities. The board uses a funding range to help protect against investment losses and inflation costs.
If the target range falls below 114 per cent, the proposed policy would allow the board to charge employers a special levy or to transfer money from the safer workplaces development fund to make up the shortfall.
If the target range exceeds 128 per cent, the proposed policy would allow the board to transfer the excess to the safer workplaces development fund.
The board would use the fund to return to employers special levies charged over the past three years to make up for funding shortfalls, as well as to pay for programs to improve workplace health and safety, and to disburse any special surplus distributions to employers.
The current policy requires the board to pay out funds exceeding 128 per cent to employers through a special surplus distribution.
British Columbia
Government to ‘modernize’ language of WCA
The British Columbia government is proposing to modernize the language of its Workers Compensation Act to make it easier to understand, and to reorganize it so specific requirements are easier to find.
“Over the years, the Workers Compensation Act has been amended many times, with new provisions added and some existing provisions repealed and replaced,” said a statement from the B.C. government.
“These changes have affected the organization of the act, such that an act that had a logical organization when it became a law has lost its structure, making it difficult for readers to locate and understand the information they need,” it said. “As well, many of the existing provisions are old ones that are not written in the modern standards for legislative drafting.”
The rewriting would not result in any changes to the rules covering workers’ compensation, occupational health and safety, or employers’ assessment premiums, the statement said.
If approved by the legislature, the revisions will go into effect on March 1, 2019.
Manitoba
Minimum wage rate to rise Oct. 1
On Oct. 1, the provincial government will raise the general minimum wage rate from $11.15 an hour to $11.35.
The increase is based on Manitoba’s 2017 inflation rate of 1.6 per cent and rounding up to the nearest five cents.
Manitoba law requires the government to adjust the minimum wage rate on Oct. 1 each year.
Prince Edward Island
Bill allows for domestic violence leave
The province’s legislature has passed amendments to the Employment Standards Act that will allow eligible employees to take time off for domestic, intimate partner, or sexual violence.
The new leave was proposed in Bill 116, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act (No. 3), which received royal assent on June 12. The government has not yet enacted it.
Once in effect, employees with at least three months of continuous employment with their employer would be allowed to take up to three paid days off and up to seven unpaid days in a 12-calendar-month period for domestic, intimate partner, or sexual violence leave.
Other requirements related to the leave will be covered in regulations under the act. In July, the draft regulations were released that included the following:
• Employees could take the leave if they, their child, or a person for whom they are a caregiver (regardless of whether they live with the person) suffer domestic, intimate partner, or sexual violence — or the threat of it.
• Employees could take the leave to seek medical attention, obtain services from a victim services organization, obtain psychological or other professional counselling, temporarily or permanently relocate, and seek legal or law enforcement assistance.
• Employers could require employees to provide written proof of the need for the leave.
• Employers would have to keep all matters related to the leave confidential and not disclose information to anyone, except employees or agents who need the information to do their job or unless the employee gave consent.
WCB proposes funding policy changes
The provincial Workers Compensation Board (WCB) is proposing to increase the upper limit of the funding target range for its accident fund from 110 per cent to 125 per cent.
With the change, the target range would be 100 to 125 per cent.
The board uses the accident fund to pay compensation provided for under the Workers Compensation Act.
By law, the board must ensure that the fund is fully funded within a period it considers reasonable. Revenue for the accident fund comes from employer assessments and WCB investments from the assessments.
When the funding for the accident fund stays in the target range, the WCB does not need to adjust employer assessment revenue requirements.
However, if the funding range falls below 100 per cent, the WCB will raise employer assessment rates.
Under proposed changes to the board’s funding policy, if the range exceeded 125 per cent, but did not surpass 140 per cent, the board could lower assessment rates.
If the range exceeded 140 per cent, it could consider returning excess funds to employers through a surplus distribution.
Currently, the board can lower assessment rates if the range exceeds 110 per cent and can consider a surplus distribution if it surpasses 130 per cent.
Saskatchewan
Minimum wage bump coming
On Oct. 1, the Saskatchewan government will raise the province’s minimum wage rate from $10.96 an hour to $11.06.
The government adjusts the minimum wage rate each year on Oct. 1, using an indexation formula based on percentage changes to both Saskatchewan’s consumer price index and the average hourly wage for the previous year.
