29

 


 

Second Session, 48th General Assembly

67 Elizabeth II, 2018

BILL 29

AN ACT TO AMEND THE LABOUR STANDARDS ACT

Received and Read the First Time................................................................

Second Reading............................................................................................

Committee.....................................................................................................

Third Reading...............................................................................................

Royal Assent.................................................................................................

HONOURABLE AL HAWKINS

Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour

Ordered to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

 

EXPLANATORY NOTES

              This Bill would amend the Labour Standards Act to

·         allow nurse practitioners to issue certain certificates under the Act;

·         increase the amount of parental leave available from 35 weeks to 61 weeks;

·         expand the persons who are entitled to take critically ill child care leave; and

·         provide for critically ill adult care leave.


A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE
LABOUR STANDARDS ACT

Analysis


        1.   S.40 Amdt.
Pregnancy leave

        2.   S.41 Amdt.
Special circumstances

        3.   S.43.5 R&S
End of parental leave

        4.   S.43.11 Amdt.
Sick and family responsibility leave

        5.   S.43.14 Amdt.
Entitlement to leave

        6.   S.43.15 Amdt.
Notice to employer

        7.   Part VII.6 R&S

              PART VII.6
LEAVE RELATED TO CRITICAL ILLNESS

              43.28 Definitions

              43.29 Entitlement to leave

              43.30 Notice

              43.31 Employee protection

              43.32 Regulations


Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSNL1990 cL-2
as amended

        1. Paragraph 40(3)(b) of the Labour Standards Act is repealed and the following substituted:

             (b)  a certificate from a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner stating the estimated birth date.

 

        2. Paragraph 41(2)(b) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

             (b)  a certificate from a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner that

                      (i)  in the case of an employee who stops working because of complications caused by her pregnancy, states the employee is unable to perform her duties because of complications caused by her pregnancy and states the expected birth date, or

                     (ii)  in other cases, states the date of the birth, still-birth or miscarriage and the date the employee was expected to give birth.

 

 

        3. Section 43.5 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

End of parental leave

   43.5 Parental leave ends 61 weeks after it began or on an earlier day if the employee gives the employer at least 4 weeks' written notice of that day.

 

        4. Subsection 43.11(2) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

             (2)  An employee shall provide his or her employer with a certificate of a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner for a period of 3 or more consecutive days of sick leave.

 

        5. Subsection 43.14(1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Entitlement to leave

43.14 (1) An employee who has been employed by the same employer for at least 30 days is entitled to a leave of absence without pay of up to 28 weeks to provide care or support to a family member of the employee where a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner issues a certificate stating that the family member has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks from

             (a)  the day the certificate is issued; or

             (b)  the day the leave began, if leave began before the certificate was issued.

 

        6. Subsection 43.15(4) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

             (4)  Where the employer makes a written request, an employee shall provide his or her employer with a copy of the medical practitioner or nurse practitioner's certificate referred to in subsection 43.14(1).

 

        7. Part VII.6 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

PART VII.6
LEAVE RELATED TO CRITICAL ILLNESS

Definitions

43.28 In this Part

             (a)  "cohabiting partner" means either of 2 persons who are cohabiting and have cohabited continuously in a conjugal relationship outside marriage for not less than one year;

             (b)  "critically ill adult" has the same meaning as in the regulations made under the Employment Insurance Act (Canada);

             (c)  "critically ill child" has the same meaning as in the regulations made under the Employment Insurance Act (Canada);

             (d)  "family member" means

                      (i)  a spouse or cohabiting partner of the employee,

                     (ii)  a child of the employee or of the employee's spouse or cohabiting partner,

                    (iii)  a parent of the employee or a spouse or cohabiting partner of the parent, and

                    (iv)  any other person who is a member of a class of persons prescribed for the purpose of this definition in the regulations; and

             (e)  "week" means the period between midnight on Saturday and midnight on the immediately following Saturday.

Entitlement to leave

43.29 (1) An employee who has been employed by the same employer for at least 30 days is entitled to a leave of absence from employment without pay of up to 37 weeks to provide care or support to a critically ill child who is a family member where a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner issues a certificate

             (a)  stating that the child is a critically ill child and requires the care or support of the employee; and

             (b)  setting out the period during which the child requires that care or support.

             (2)  An employee who has been employed by the same employer for at least 30 days is entitled to a leave of absence from employment without pay of up to 17 weeks to provide care or support to a critically ill adult who is a family member where a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner issues a certificate

             (a)  stating that the adult is a critically ill adult and requires the care or support of the employee; and

             (b)  setting out the period during which the adult requires that care or support.

             (3)  Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), an employee who takes a leave of absence in accordance with this Part shall limit the duration of that leave of absence to that which is reasonably necessary in the circumstances.

             (4)  An employee who wishes to take a leave of absence under this Part shall give the employer a copy of the medical practitioner or nurse practitioners certificate referred to in subsection (1) or (2) as soon as possible.

Notice

43.30 (1) An employee who intends to take a leave of absence under this Part shall give written notice to his or her employer at least 2 weeks before the leave of absence is to begin of that intention, unless there is a valid reason why that notice cannot be given.

             (2)  An employee who gives notice under subsection (1) shall include in that written notice to the employer the length of the leave of absence that the employee intends to take.

             (3)  Every employee who is taking a leave of absence under this Part shall give at least 2 weeks' written notice to the employer of any change in the length of leave intended to be taken, unless there is a valid reason why that notice cannot be given.

Employee protection

43.31 (1) An employer shall not dismiss an employee or give notice of dismissal to an employee because an employee intends to take, applies for or takes a leave of absence under this Part.

             (2)  Where an employee is dismissed by his or her employer contrary to subsection (1), the onus of proving that the reason for dismissal is unrelated to the critically ill child care leave or critically ill adult care leave rests with the employer.

             (3)  An employer shall reinstate an employee at the end of his or her leave of absence under this Part on terms and conditions that are not less beneficial than those that subsisted before the leave of absence began.

             (4)  Unless the employer and the employee otherwise agree, a period of leave under this Part does not count towards the application of the rights, benefits and privileges conferred by this Act upon an employee, but the period worked upon resumption of employment after leave shall be considered, for the purpose of this Act, to be continuous with the period worked before the leave.

Regulations

43.32 The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

             (a)  respecting terms and conditions which may be imposed on the availability and duration of leave under this Part;

             (b)  setting out time frames within which leave under this Part may be accessed;

             (c)  respecting early termination of leave under this Part;

             (d)  prescribing classes of persons for the purpose of paragraph 43.28(d); and

             (e)  generally, to give effect to this Part.