Canadian Payroll Reporter

April 2019

Focuses on issues of importance to payroll professionals across Canada. It contains news, case studies, profiles and tracks payroll-related legislation to help employers comply with all the rules and regulations governing their organizations.

Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1090930

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 7 of 7

News April 2019 five days of the 10 days of leave they may take each year if they, their child, or a person for whom they are a caregiver is a victim of interpersonal violence. "We've seen other jurisdic- tions move towards having paid leave, and we're hoping the gov- ernment will do the right thing and finally pass this legislation," said Nicole Sarauer, NDP justice critic, when she tabled the bill in December. The bill is scheduled for sec- ond reading, but the government has not indicated its position. Nova Scotia Bill 83: The bill would prohibit employ- ers from withholding tips and other gratuities from employees, except where required by law or a court order, or where employ- ers collect them and then redis- tribute them to other employees. Employers would be allowed to share in tips or gratuities if they performed the same work as employees. Tammy Martin, the NDP op- position member who tabled the bill last fall, said legislation was important because a study on tip- ping found that 33 per cent of N.S. employees said their employer took some or all of their tips. "Employers shouldn't be al- lowed to take tips and gratuities from their employees or use those tips for other business ex- penses," said Martin. The government has not in- dicated whether it will support the bill. Alberta Bill 201: The bill, tabled last year, would prohibit employers from pre- venting part-time, casual, or vol- unteer firefighters from taking time off work to fight fires. The bill is before the legisla- ture for second reading, but it is unlikely to pass, given that the legislative committee that stud- ied it does not support it and now neither does the member (MLA) who originally introduced it. United Conservative Party MLA Wayne Anderson said he tabled the legislation in response to a call from a former volunteer firefighter who had to give up the part-time position because his full-time employer refused to accommodate him, telling him to choose between the two jobs. However, Anderson and the committee studying the bill decided not to support it after hearing from business owners and those in the fire-fighting community that the legislation could create an adversarial re- lationship between fire depart- ments and local businesses and discourage employers from hir- ing individuals who are volun- teer firefighters. P.E.I. Bill 116: The bill, which would add do- mestic violence leave to the prov- ince's Employment Standards Act, is one private member's bill that has succeeded in passing all of the legislative stages. Tabled last May by Steven My- ers, a member of the opposition Progressive Conservative Party, the bill would allow employees with at least three months of ser- vice with their employer to take up to 10 days off each year for domestic, intimate partner, or sexual violence leave. Employers would have to pay employees for three days of the leave. Bill 116 passed third read- ing and received royal assent in less than a month; however, it is not yet in force. A government spokesperson said the bill would be implemented once regula- tions for the leave are finalized. Federal Bill C-369: The bill, sponsored by NDP op- position member Georgina Joli- bois, would make Sept. 30 a stat- utory holiday under the Bills of Exchange Act, Canada Labour Code, and Interpretation Act. The holiday would recognize a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation for Canada's First Nation, Inuit, and Metis people. So far, the bill has passed sec- ond reading and study by a leg- islative committee. It amended the bill (including selecting Sept. 30 as the date and changing the name of the holiday from Na- tional Indigenous Peoples Day) and reported it to the House of Commons for third reading in February. While studying the bill, com- mittee members heard from Indigenous groups and labour unions in support of a holiday, as well as employer groups with concerns about it. The Federally Regulated Em- ployers — Transportation and Communications (FETCO), which represents large employ- ers in the transportation and communications sectors, said while it supported the goal be- hind the holiday, adding another paid day off could be costly for employers. "Currently, the code provides nine statutory holidays. Most FETCO members, as a result of previous negotiations with employees and unions, exceed this minimum number. FETCO employers typically provide between 10 and 13 paid holi- days throughout the year," said FETCO. "Adding an additional paid holiday to the Canada Labour Code represents substantial productivity losses and busi- ness cost increases for Canadian businesses," it said. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) also expressed concern. "New statutory holidays are incredibly expensive," said the CFIB, adding that its estimates show that one extra holiday could cost Canadian businesses up to $3.6 billion in lost productivity. Union representatives, such as those with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada disagreed, noting some employers have already shown support for a holiday by giving employees paid time off on June 21 for National Indig- enous Peoples Day. While Bill C-369 has gone further in the legislative process than many private members' bills do, it still needs to pass third reading and receive royal assent before it can be implemented. News Federal NDP bill proposes new statutory holiday from PRIVATE on page 3 Published 12 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Subscription rate: $189 per year Customer Service Tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) E-mail: customersupport.legaltaxcanada@tr.com Website: www.payroll-reporter.com One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1T 3V4 Director, Media Solutions, Canada Karen Lorimer Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Todd Humber Editor Sheila Brawn sbrawn@rogers.com Editor/Supervisor Sarah Dobson News Editor Marcel Vander Wier Sales Manager Paul Burton paul.burton@tr.com (416) 649-9928 Marketing & Audience Development Manager Robert Symes rob.symes@tr.com (416) 649-9551 Circulation Co-ordinator Keith Fulford keith.fulford@tr.com (416) 649-9585 Payroll Reporter Can R Can R adian adian a www.payroll-reporter.com ©2019 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-7798-2810-4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher (Thomson Reuters, Media Solutions, Canada). Return Mail Registration # 1522825 | Return Postage Guaranteed Paid News Revenue Toronto Canadian Payroll Reporter is part of the Canadian HR Reporter group of publications: • Canadian HR Reporter — www.hrreporter.com • Canadian Occupational Safety magazine — www.cos-mag.com • Canadian Safety Reporter — www.safety-reporter.com • Canadian Employment Law Today — www.employmentlawtoday.com • Canadian Labour Reporter — www.labour-reporter.com • Canadian Payroll Reporter — www.payroll-reporter.com

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Canadian Payroll Reporter - April 2019