Part 1 of 3 – I will explain each of the upcoming “three hour rules” over the next couple of weeks.

Beginning January 1 2019, a minimum of three hours’ pay equal to the employee’s regular rate must be provided in certain circumstances.

This week we discuss “Shifts under three hours”:

An employer shall pay an employee wages for three hours of work if the employee,

• regularly works more than three hours a day;
• is required to work; and
• works less than three hours, despite being available to work longer.

NOTE: These provisions do not apply if the employer is unable to provide work for the employee because of fire, lightning, power failure, storms or similar causes beyond the employer’s control that result in the stopping of work.

I have highlighted “regularly works” because some employers actually have scheduled shifts that are less than 3 hours.  This is particularly common in social-services based organizations.

In that case, employees are not entitled to the three hour rule, as they “regularly work” less than 3 hours in a shift.

I will caution that this does not mean that employers could suddenly shorten longer shifts, as this could result in a constructive dismissal.

The new legislation is full of employment law landmines – Contact me today for help!