Legislative Roundup

Canada

Changes coming to labour code

Recently passed amendments to the Canada Labour Code will bring a variety of changes for federally regulated employers and employees once the federal government implements them.

The changes were included in Bill C-63, the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2, which received royal assent on Dec. 14.

The government has not said when it will bring the amendments into effect.

Among the changes:

• Employees will be allowed to take time off in lieu of overtime pay if they request it. Employees will earn at least 1.5 hours of time for each overtime hour.

• Employers will have to give employees at least 24 hours advance written notice of shift changes. Exceptions will apply in emergencies.

• Employees with at least three months of service will be allowed to take up to three days off work each year for family responsibility leave.

• Employees who are victims of family violence (or whose child is) will be allowed to take 10 days off work each year for specific purposes to deal with the situation.

• Bereavement leave will increase from three days to five days, with the first three days paid for employees with at least three months of service.

• Employees will be required to take their vacation in one period, unless employers and employers agree otherwise. If employees take vacation in more than one period, their employer will have to pay them the proportion of vacation pay owing for each period within timeframes specified by law.

The amendments will also give workers the right to request flexible work arrangements if they have worked for their employer for at least six months.

Alberta

Government harmonizes some leaves with EI

Alberta has revised some of its employment standards leaves to better harmonize them with recent federal changes to employment insurance (EI) benefits.

On Jan. 1, the provincial government increased the amount of parental leave allowed under the Employment Standards Code from 37 weeks to 62 weeks. It also expanded the period in which employees must complete the leave from 52 weeks after the child’s birth or adoption to 78 weeks afterwards.

In addition, the government increased the maximum length of maternity leave from 15 weeks to 16 weeks and broadened the period in which employees may begin their maternity leave from 12 weeks before the estimated due date to 13 weeks.

It also implemented new leaves for employees who need time off to provide care or support for a critically ill family member. If the family member is a child, the period of leave is a maximum of 36 weeks. For adult family members, it is 16 weeks.

The federal government implemented new rules for parental, maternity and family caregiver EI benefits in December.

WCB consulting on policy changes

Alberta’s Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) is asking for feedback on policy changes needed to bring its rules in line with amendments to workers’ compensation legislation.

In December, the provincial legislature passed amendments to the Workers’ Compensation Act, including those that will require employers to continue contributing to health benefits plans for injured workers for up to a year while they are off work due to a workplace injury.

The obligation will come into effect on Sept. 1 and will only apply if the employer paid contributions to the benefits plan before the injury occurred and if injured employees continue to pay their share, if any, of the contributions.

Other amendments will require employers to offer to reinstate injured employees with at least 12 months of service. Injured workers will also receive improved benefits, including the removal of an annual cap on maximum insurable earnings, which will allow those who earn more than the cap to receive WCB benefits equal to 90 per cent of their total earnings.

Another amendment will establish a new Code of Rights and Conduct for workers and employers dealing with the WCB.

The policy changes cover topics such as return-to-work obligations, the new code, and interim relief for workers and employers appealing WCB decisions. Stakeholders have until March 6 to comment.

The draft policies are posted on the board’s website at https://www.wcb.ab.ca/about-wcb/policy-and-legislation/whats-new-in-policy.html.

Northwest Territories

Minimum wage going up

The minimum wage rate will rise from $12.50 per hour to $13.46 on April 1, the territorial government recently announced.

It will be the first increase since 2015.

A Minimum Wage Committee, made up of representatives from business, labour and community organizations, reviews the rate every two years.

Ontario

ESA regulations updated

The Ontario government has updated a number of regulations to incorporate changes resulting from recent amendments to the province’s Employment Standards Act, 2000.

The regulatory changes affect special rules, exemptions, and penalties, among other standards.

On Jan. 1, the government implemented wide-ranging amendments to the act, including changes to leaves of absence, vacations, and public holiday pay standards. Amendments covering equal pay for equal work will take effect on April 1, while changes to scheduling rules will come into force next January.

The updated regulations include the following new requirements:

• Employees taking a critical illness leave for a person whom they say considers them to be like a family member must provide proof of the relationship if the employer requests it. The proof will be a copy of the document that the employee gave the federal government when claiming EI benefits for the leave that stated that the ill individual considers the employee to be like a family member.

• Construction workers who have worked for their employer for less than five years are exempt from the act’s public holiday standards if they receive at least 7.7 per cent of their hourly rate or wages for vacation pay or holiday pay. For employees with five or more years of service, the exemption threshold is 9.7 per cent of their hourly rate or wages for vacation pay or holiday pay.

• Penalties for violating provisions in the act have increased. For a first offence, the penalty is $350, up from $250. For a second contravention within three years, the penalty is $700, up from $500. For a third or subsequent contravention within three years, the penalty has increased from $1,000 to $1,500.

• Employees working in specified sectors of the automotive industry are not entitled to two new paid days of personal emergency leave if their employer provides them with at least two paid days off for personal illness or medical appointments each year or at least two days of vacation or public holidays in excess of employment standards
minimums.

The full list of regulatory changes was published in the Jan. 6 edition of the Ontario Gazette, at https://www.ontario.ca/search/ontario-gazette.

MOL investigating reported violations

The Ministry of Labour says it is investigating complaints that some employers are not complying with new requirements under the Employment Standards Act, 2000.

Since amendments to the act took effect on Jan. 1 — including a $2.40 hike in the hourly minimum wage rate — there have been news reports of some employers eliminating paid breaks, no longer allowing employees to keep their tips, and requiring employees to pay more for benefits coverage.

While employers are within their rights to make some of the changes, it is generally against the law for them to require employees to give them their tips.

Labour Minister Kevin Flynn told the Canadian Press that ministry inspectors are looking into reported violations and that the government could post the names of employers found guilty.