In this blog series I explain the impact of various proposed legislation changes under “Bill 148”. Today was to be the second of three installments on the impact of the proposed changes, however in preparing my blog I note that some changes have been made to the Bill that you need to know about, in particular some that I spoke about last week.
Changes to Note:
Scheduling – the right to refuse call-ins with less than 4 days’ notice, minimum three hours’ pay, etc. – this section has been changed to remove the line “provisions in a collective agreement may prevail”, this means that even if your workplace has a collective agreement that states something other than what the law provides, unless that provision is superior (better) it won’t hold up and your agreement will likely have to be changed.
Personal Emergency Leave – the initial proposed change included the line “the reasons for which this leave may be taken are amended to include experiencing sexual or domestic violence or the threat of sexual or domestic violence”. This line has been removed, and replaced with a new section, 49.7 “Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave”, which provides between 10 days and 15 weeks of unpaid leave, for employees who experience, or if their children have experienced, domestic and/or sexual violence.
Paid Personal Emergency Leave Days – the employee is only entitled to the two paid days if they have been employed by the employer for one week or longer.
Pregnancy & Parental Leave – The entitlement to six (6) weeks leave is increased to twelve (12) weeks, in some circumstances. Parental leave for employees who also take pregnancy leave is increased from 35 weeks to 61 weeks; and increased from 37 weeks up to 63 weeks if they do not take pregnancy leave.
If you want to keep up to date on the Bill and its progression, click the link HERE and go to the tab marked “Debates”. You will be able to read all the transcripts of the debates, discussions and changes as they happen.