On November 26, 2021, the federal government tabled proposed legislation that would amend the Canada Labour Code [CLC] and significantly impact federally regulated employers in the private sector. In particular, Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code (the “Act”), would provide federally regulated employees in the private sector with ten paid sick days per year, in addition to other proposed amendments. A summary of the proposed amendments to the CLC and how they may impact provincially regulated Ontario employers is set out below.
Summary of the Proposed Amendments to the CLC
Repeal of the Personal Leave Under the CLC
If passed, the Act would repeal the personal leave under the CLC that federally regulated private sector employees are currently entitled to take for up to five days per year due to an illness, injury, or urgent matter concerning themselves or a family member. Notably, employees are only entitled to this leave after completing three consecutive months of service, and they are only entitled to be paidfor up to three days of the leave.
Creation of New Medical Leave of Absence with Pay
The Act would also create a new medical leave of absence with pay for federally regulated private sector employees, of up to ten days, where they are not capable of working for medical reasons such as personal illness or injury. In particular, after such employees complete one month of continuous employment, they would earn one day of paid medical leave at the beginning of each month, up to a maximum of ten days per calendar year.
Any days of paid medical leave that an employee earns but does not take in a calendar year would be carried over into the following calendar year, and would count towards the ten day maximum for that year. Employees would also be allowed to take the paid leave of absence in one or more periods, but employers would be able to require that it be taken in periods of at least one day. Additionally, employers would be permitted to require employees to provide a certificate issued by a health care practitioner to prove their entitlement to days of paid leave, subject to certain conditions.
Takeaways
Beyond the obvious implications of the proposed amendments for federally regulated employers in the private sector, if the Act is passed, it may impact provincially regulated employers by prompting other provinces like Ontario to legislate greater paid sick leave entitlements for employees as well. This is because increases to federal paid sick leave entitlements may add further momentum to calls for lawmakers in other Canadian jurisdictions to follow suit, given that providing employees with paid sick days can reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace.
Although Ontario has already passed legislation providing provincially regulated Ontario employees with up to three days of paid leave that can be taken where an employee has contracted COIVD-19, this leave is temporary and there is no legislated paid sick leave in Ontario for illnesses other than COVID-19. Moreover, Ontario has still not passed legislation that was tabled back in June 2021 to provide provincially regulated Ontario employees with ten paid sick days per year.
In contrast, on November 24, 2021, British Columbia’s government announced that as of January 1, 2022, employees in British Columbia will be entitled to a minimum of five paid sick days per year.
As a result, if the federal government joins British Columbia in legislating greater paid sick day entitlements for employees, Ontario may be pressured to do the same, especially with the potential health risks posed by the new Omicron variant.
As always, we will continue to monitor for updates regarding the proposed legislation, and will promptly post any relevant updates for employers.
This blog is provided as an information service and summary of workplace legal issues.
This information is not intended as legal advice.