Canadian Payroll Reporter

7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2016 CPR | January 2016 Legislative Roundup from FEDERAL on page 1 The tax changes include cut- ting the rate for the second tax bracket from 22 per cent to 20.5 per cent and introducing a new tax rate of 33 per cent for individuals earning more than $200,000 a year, as well as rolling back the contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts from $10,000 to $5,500. The changes take effect Jan. 1. Manitoba Employment standards changes proposed Manitoba is proposing to allow workers covered under the prov- ince's Employment Standards Code to take up to 17 weeks off work, without pay, if they suffer a serious injury or illness. The proposal is part of Bill 8, the Employment Standards Code Amendment Act (Leave for Victims of Domestic Vio- lence, Leave for Serious Injury or Illness and Extension of Com- passionate Care Leave), which Minister of Labour and Immi- gration Erna Braun tabled in the provincial legislature on Nov. 25. The amendments would al- low employees who have been employed by their employer for at least 90 days to take up to 17 weeks off work in any 52-week period for a serious injury or illness. Employees would need to provide their employer with a medical certificate verifying they are unable to work for at least two weeks because of a se- rious injury or illness. An employee would have to take the time off in one continu- ous period unless the employer and the employee agree other- wise or it is allowed under a col- lective agreement. The bill also proposes to in- crease the period of time em- ployees may take off for com- passionate care leave from eight weeks to 28 weeks. It would also increase the eligibility require- ments for a compassionate care leave from 30 days to 90 days. The code allows eligible em- ployees to take up to two periods of compassionate care leave to provide care or support to a se- riously ill family member with a significant risk of death with- in 26 weeks. The bill proposes to extend the period in which an employee may take the leave from 26 weeks after the day the first period of leave began to 52 weeks afterwards. It would also clarify that no additional medical certificate would be required if an em- ployee took a compassionate care leave after the end of the 26- week period set out in the medi- cal certificate. The illness/injury leave and compassionate care amend- ments would take effect Apr. 1. The bill would also add a new leave for employees who are vic- tims of domestic violence. For more information, see "Manito- ba proposes job-protected time off work for domestic violence victims" on pg. 3. Nova Scotia LSC amendments enhance leaves Beginning Jan. 3, amendments to the province's labour stan- dards law allow employees to take more time off work, without pay, for bereavement and com- passionate care leaves. The amendments were part of Bill 127, the Labour Standards Code (amended), which the provincial legislature passed in December. The amendments al- low employees to take a bereave- ment leave of up to five consecu- tive working days upon the death of their spouse, parent, guardian, child, ward, grandparent, grand- child, sister, brother, mother-in- law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law or brother-in-law. Previously, employees could take up to three working days off work if their spouse, parent, guardian, child or ward dies and one working day if their grand- parent, grandchild, sister, broth- er, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, sis- ter-in-law or brother-in-law dies. The amendments also in- crease the number of weeks an employee may take a compas- sionate care leave from eight weeks to 28 weeks. The act al- lows eligible employees to take time off work to provide care or support to a seriously ill family member with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks. The amendments also extend the period within which employ- ees may take the leave from 26 weeks to 52 weeks, meaning an employee could end and restart the leave during the 52 weeks following the first day of the week in which it began. In addition, they clarify that if an employee restarted a leave after 26 weeks, the employee would not need another medical certificate. ESA to include new rules for tips New employment standards rules will regulate when employ- ers may withhold tips or gratu- ities from employees or deduct amounts from the payments. The changes are contained in Bill 12, Protecting Employees' Tips Act, 2015, which amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to include standards for employee tips and gratuities. The bill is expected to take effect sometime in June. Once in force, the bill will prohibit employers from with- holding tips or gratuities from employees, deducting amounts from the tips or gratuities or causing employees to return their tips or gratuities to the em- ployer unless allowed by a law or a court order or because the em- ployer collects and redistributes them among some or all of the employees. It will also prohibit employers, directors and shareholders from sharing in redistributed tips or gratuities unless they regularly do the same work as employees who share in the tips or as em- ployees of other employers in the same industry who commonly receive or share tips or gratuities. Prince Edward Island Minimum wage to go up twice in 2016 The provincial government says it will raise the province's mini- mum wage rate twice this year. On Jun. 1, it will increase the rate from $10.50 per hour to $10.75. On Oct. 1, it will raise the rate again to $11. The provincial government says about 9.3 per cent of Island workers are paid minimum wage. New leaves added to ESA Amendments to the province's Employment Standards Act now allow employees to take job-pro- tected time off work if their child is critically ill or has disappeared or died as a result of a crime. The provincial legislature added the new leaves when it passed Bill 39, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, on Dec. 2. The province joins most other Canadians jurisdic- tions in allowing this. The amendments allow eli- gible employees to take up to 37 weeks off work within a 52- week period if their child, under 18 years old, is critically ill. If an employee's child disappears as a result of a probable crime, the employee will be allowed to take up to 52 weeks off work and if a child dies as a result of a probable crime, eligible employees will be able to take up to 104 weeks off work. Employees will only be able to take the leaves in periods of at least one week. To be eligible, employees must be employed by their em- ployer for a continuous period of at least three months. To take a leave for a critically ill child, employees will have to provide their employer with a copy of a medical certificate verifying the need for the leave if the employer requests it in writing. For leaves related to the disap- pearance or death or a child, em- ployees will have to provide their employer with reasonable docu- mentation of the need for the leave if the employer requests it in writing. Employees who are charged with a crime related to the child's disappearance or death are not entitled to the leaves for a child who has disappeared or died. When the leave is over, em- ployers will have to reinstate the employee in the position held right before taking the leave or, if that position no longer exists, in a comparable one, with not less than the same wages and benefits the employee would have received if she had not taken the leave.

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