1971 Bill 139 Fourth Session, 16th Legislature, 20 Elizabeth II THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ALBERTA BILL 139

An Act to amend The Alberta Labour Act MR. YURKO First Reading .............................. . Second Reading Third Reading ............................. . Printed by L. S. Wall, Queen's Printer, Edmonton

BILL 139 1971

AN ACT TO AMEND THE ALBERTA LABOUR ACT (Assented to , 1971) HER MAJESTY, by and with the ladvke and cons'ent of the Legisla ti ve Assemhly of A1lheirna, €nJaets als follows: 1. The Alberta Labour Act is hereby amended. 2. Se.ction 9, subsection (2) is amended by adding the following clause: (

f) determine whether a person is an employee or an employer for the purpose of this Act. 3. Sect,ion 30 is amended by adding the. following sub­ sections:

(9) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other Act, a person to whom unpaid wages is due and owing by an employer, shall have first priority over the claims or rights, including the claims or rights of the Crown, of all pre­ ferred, ordinary or general creditors of the employer, to the extent of $2,000.

(10) Every employer shall be deemed to hold vacation pay accruing to an employee in trust for the employee and for payment of the vacation pay over in the manner and at the time provided under this Act and the regulations, and the amount shall be a charge upon the assets of the em­ ployer or his estate in his hands or the hands of a trust'ee and shall have priority over all other claims.

Section 31 is amended: (

a) by renumbering the

section as subsectidn (1), (

b) by adding the following subsection:

(2) Any agreement, :arrangement or understand­ ing by an employee with an employer or any term or condition of employment implied by law, that re­ sults in the whole or any part of the wages of an employee being retained by, returned ,to or aecepted by the employer, either directly or indireetly, is null and VOId.

Explanatory Notes I. Tlhis Bill will amend H.S.A. 1970

Chapter 196. 2. DetermirlJartiolIl IOf employee laIIlJd employer. 3. Prio:rilty of cLaims. 4. 31. Withholding of wages.

5. The following ne,w

Part is added:

PART 8 TERMINATI'ON O'F EM,PLOYMENT 139. This part applies to the Crown, every agency thereof and any Board, Comn1ission, Authority, or Cor­ poration that exercises any functions assigned or delegated to it by the Crown. 140. No employer shall dismiss or suspend an employee upon the ground that garnishment proceedings are or may be taken against an employee. 141. If

an act>ivity, business, trade, or undertaking is disposed of, transferred or sold in any manner or amal­ gamated, whether by agreement, will, instrument, trans­ fer, including transfer of shares, or by operation of law, the period of employm'ent of an employee of the activity, business, trade, or undertaking at the time of such dis­ position, transfer, sale, or amalgamation, shall be deemed to have been 'employment with the disposee, transferee, purchaser or amalgamation and the continuity of employ­ ment shall not be broken. 142.

(1) No employer shall terminate the employment of a person who has been employed for three months or more unless he gives (

a) one week's notice in writing to the person if his period of employment is two years; (

c) four weeks' notice in writing Ito tlhe person if his period of employment is five years or more but less than ten years; and (

d) eight weeks) notiee in writing to the person if his pedod of ,employment is ten years or more, and such notice has expired.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the notice required by an employer to terminate the employment of fifty or more persons in any period of four weeks or less shall be given in the manner and for the period prescribed in the regulations, and until the expiry of such notice the ter­ minations shall not take 'effect. 2 (3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to (

a) a person employed for a definite term or task; (

b) a person who is temporarily laid off, as defined in the regulations; (

c) a person who has been guilty of wilful misconduct or disobedience or wilful neglect of duty that has not been condoned by the employer and has been arbitrated through a grievance procedure estab­ lished by labour management procedures;

5. 139. Applk'aJtilOtn of pamt. 140. GaII'nisihmellit lIlot to he grounds for ,ditsmiJssal. 141. COnJtinuiity IQf ,employment. 142. Notice of terminlaJtiolIl. ·2

(

d) a contract of employment that is or has become impossible of performance or is frustrated by a fortuitous or unforesee.able event or circumstance; or (

e) a person employed in an activity, business, work, trade, occupation or profession, or any part there­ of, that is exempted by the regulations. (4) '\There an employer is required to give the notice referred to 'in subsection (2), he shall oo-operate with the Minister during the period of the notice in any action or program intended to facilitate the re-establishment in em­ ployment of the persons whose employment is to be ter­ minated.

(5) Where the notice referred to in subsection (1) or (2) has been given (

a) no employer shall alter the rat'es of wages or any other term or condition of employment of any person to whom notice has been given; and (

b) upon the expiry of the notice, the employer shall pay to the person the wages and any unpaid vaca­ tion pay to which he is entitled.

(6) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2) the em­ ployment of a person may be terminated forthwith where the employer gives to the person notice in writing to that effect, and (

a) pays to the person an amount equal to the wages to which the person would have been entitled for work that would have been performed by him at the regular rate for a normal non-overtime work week for the period of notice prescribed under sub­ section (1) or the regulations, as the case may be; and (

b) pays to the person any unpaid vacation pay to which the person is entitled.

(7) Any amount payable under clause (

a) of subsection (6) shall be deemed to be unpaid wages for the purposes of this Act.

(8) Where an employer (

a) fails to give the notice in writing prescribed in subsection (1) or in the regulations, as the case may be; (

b) fails to pay wages or any vacation pay to which an employee is entitled under clause (

b) of sub­ section (5); or (

c) fails to pay the moneys, to which an employee is entitled under subsection (6) the Board may determine the amount or amounts which the employer is entitled to receive and shall take appro­ priate action in accordance with the powers assigned to it by this Act. 3

(9) Subject to subsection (10) an employee to whom notice has been given under subsection (2) shall not ter­ minate his employment until after the expiry of (

a) one week's notice in writing to the employer if the period of employment lis two years or more.

(10) An employee may terminat'e his employment forth­ with upon notice where his employer has been guilty of a breach of the terms and conditions of employment.

(11) Nothing in this

section affects any rights or bene­ fits of an employee under any law, custom, agreement or arrangement that is more favourable to him than his rights or benefits under this section.

(12) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regula tions respecting any matter or thing necessary or advisable to carry out the intent and purpose of this part regarding the termination of employment, and, wHhout restricting the generality of the foregoing, may make re­ gulations (

a) prescribing the length of notice of termination of employment to be given by an employer or class of employers to a class or classes of employees; (

b) prescribing the length of notice of termination of employment to be given by an employee or class of 'employees to an employer or class of employers; (

c) prescribing the manner of giving notice of termina­ tion of employment and the form and contents of such notice; (

d) defining "temporarily laid off", "termination of employment" and "employment for a definite term or task"; (

e) prescribing what constitutes a period of employ­ ment; and (

f) exempting any activity, business, work, trade, oc­ cupation or profession, or any part thereof from the appHcation of this part dealing with termina­ tion of employment. 6. This Act comes into force on the day upon which it is assented to. 4

6. Effective date. 4 Title: 1971 (16th, 4th) Bill 139,

An Act to amend The Alberta Labour Act