First

Session, 46th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2008

BILL 1

AN ACT TO AMEND THE

LABOUR STANDARDS ACT TO

PROVIDE FOR LEAVE FOR RESERVISTS

Received and Read the First Time ...................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ............................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE

SHAWN SKINNER

Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Bill would amend the Labour Standards Act to provide employees

with a right to unpaid leave in order to serve in the reserve force of the

Canadian Forces.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE LABOUR STANDARDS ACT TO

PROVIDE FOR LEAVE FOR RESERVISTS

Analysis

Part VII .4 added

PART

VII .4

UNPAID LEAVE

FOR RESERVISTS

43.17

Definitions

43.18 Unpaid leave

43.19 Notice of leave

43.20 Exemption

43.21 Employee protection

43.22 Regulations

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSNL1990 cL-2

as amended

1. The Labour

Standards Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 43.16 the

following:

PART VII .4

UNPAID LEAVE FOR RESERVISTS

Definitions

43.17 In

this Part

(a) "reserves" means the component of

the Canadian Forces referred to in the National

Defence Act (Canada) as the reserve force; and

(b) " service "

means deployment or training required for imminent deployment, and includes

(

i) a period of time

for treatment, recovery or rehabilitation in respect of a physical or mental

health problem that results from deployment or training required for imminent

deployment, and

(ii) service as defined in

the regulations made under

section 43.22.

Unpaid leave

43.18

(1) An employee who

(

a) is a member of the reserves;

(

b) has been employed by the same employer in

civilian employment for a period of at least 6 consecutive months; and

(

c) is required to be absent from work for the

purpose of service

is entitled to an unpaid period of leave

for the purpose of that service.

(2) An employee is not entitled to a second or

additional period of unpaid leave for the purpose of service unless at least

one year has elapsed since the date the employee returned to work from the most

recent leave of absence granted under this Part.

(3) The period of leave is the period necessary to

accommodate the period of service and includes an extension of the service

beyond the date given under subsection 43.19(2).

Notice of leave

43.19

(1) An

employee who wishes to take a period of leave under this Part shall give his or

her employer at least 60 days notice in writing of his or her intention to take

the period of leave.

(2) The notice required under subsection (1) shall

give the date on which the leave will begin and the anticipated date on which

his or her service will end.

(3) An employer may require an employee requesting

a period of leave under this Part to provide a certificate from an official

with the reserves stating that the employee is a member of the reserves and is

required for service.

(4) Where, due to circumstances beyond the control

of the employee, he or she cannot comply with the notice period required under

subsection (1), the employee shall provide as much notice as is reasonable in

the circumstances.

(5) Where the date on which his or her service is

anticipated to end changes, the employee shall notify the employer as soon as

practicable and shall, within at least 2 weeks or one pay period, whichever is

longer, provide written notice to the employer of the new end date.

(6) Where an employee fails to give a written

notice within the time period required under subsection (5), his or her

employer may defer the date of re-employment for up to 2 weeks or one pay

period, whichever is longer, after the day on which the employee informs the

employer of the new end date.

(7) A period of deferment necessitated under

subsection (6) shall be considered to be unpaid leave as described in

section

43.18.

(8) Notwithstanding subsection (2) or (5), an

employee may return to work on a date mutually agreed upon by the employee and

the employer.

Exemption

43.20

(1) An

employer, who has received from an employee a request for a grant of leave

under this Part and who believes that granting the leave would cause him or her

undue hardship, may apply to the director for an exemption from the requirement

to grant the leave.

(2) Where the director determines that a grant of

leave under this Part would cause undue hardship to the employer if his or her

employee were to take leave, the employee is not entitled to the leave.

(3) A decision of the director under this

section

is final and binding on the employer and employee to whom it applies.

Employee protection

43.21

(1) An employer shall not dismiss an

employee or give notice of dismissal to an employee because an employee intends

to take, applies for or takes leave under this Part.

(2) Where an employee is dismissed by his or her

employer contrary to subsection (1), the onus of proving that the reason for dismissal

is unrelated to the leave rests with the employer.

(3) An employer shall reinstate an employee at the

less beneficial than those that existed before the leave began.

(4) Unless the employer and the employee otherwise

agree, a period of leave under this Part does not count towards the application

of the rights, benefits and privileges conferred by this Act upon an employee,

but the period worked upon resumption of employment after leave shall be

considered, for the purpose of this Act, to be continuous with the period

worked before the leave.

Regulations

43.22 The

Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

(

a) for the purpose of

subparagraph 43.17(b)(ii); and

(

b) generally to give

effect to this Part.

Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer