In 2018, provincially regulated employers saw significant changes to provincial employment standards legislation such as found in Bill 17 (Alberta), Bill 176 (Quebec). and Bill 148 (Ontario).

Not to be outdone, Parliament has introduced a massive piece of omnibus legislation in Bill C-86 (the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2) which received royal assent last month. Buried within Bill C-86’s changes to tax, customs, banking and pension legislation are significant modifications to the Canada Labour Code and the creation of pay equity legislation.

The changes will impact employers engaged in federal undertakings such as those whose business enterprises are in telecommunications, aviation, navigation and shipping, interprovincial transport, pipelining, and banking (to name a few).

The following summary provides employers with an introduction to some of the most noteworthy changes to employment legislation in the federal sphere: Amended Leaves of Absence Medical Leave (Effective September 1, 2019): Bill C-86 replaces ‘sick leave’ with medical leave. Employees are entitled to a leave of absence of up to 17 weeks as a result of any personal illness or injury, organ or tissue donation or to attend medical appointments. Employees must provide 4 weeks’ notice of the intended absence stating the start date and expected duration of the leave. Where notice cannot be given 4 weeks in advance, the employee must provide as much notice as possible. Where the leave of absence is three days or longer, the employer is entitled to require the employee to provide a medical certificate which certifies that the employee was incapable of working during the absence. Upon written request by the employee, the employer must inform the employee in writing of every employment, promotion or training opportunity that arises during the employee’s medical leave of absence.

Read more @mondaq