BILL NO. 83
(as introduced)
2nd Session, 63rd General Assembly
Nova Scotia
67 Elizabeth II, 2018
Private Member's Bill
Labour Standards Code
(amended)
Tammy Martin
Cape Breton Centre
First Reading: October 11, 2018
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
Explanatory Notes
Clause 1 adds a definition of "tip or other gratuity".
Clause 2 expands the regulation-making powers of the Governor in Council.
Clause 3 provides that an employer shall not withhold tips or other gratuities from employees subject to certain exceptions.
An Act to Amend Chapter 246
of the Revised Statutes, 1989,
the Labour Standards Code,
Respecting Tips and Gratuities
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 Section 2 of Chapter 246 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Labour Standards Code, as amended by Chapter 14 of the Acts of 1991, Chapter 7 of the Acts of 2003 (Second Session), Chapter 10 of the Acts of 2006, Chapter 37 of the Acts of 2010, Chapter 19 of the Acts of 2011 and Chapter 11 of the Acts of 2016, is further amended by
(a) adding immediately after clause (r) the following clause:
- (s) "tip or other gratuity" means
- (i) a payment voluntarily made to or left for an employee by a customer of the employee's employer in such circumstances that a reasonable person would be likely to infer that the customer intended or assumed the payment would be kept by the employee or shared by the employee with other employees,
(ii) a payment voluntarily made to an employer by a customer in such circumstances that a reasonable person would be likely to infer that the customer intended or assumed that the payment would be redistributed to an employee or employees,
(iii) a payment of a service charge or similar charge imposed by an employer on a customer in such circumstances that a reasonable person would be likely to infer that the customer intended or assumed that the payment would be redistributed to an employee or employees, or
(b) adding "any tip or gratuity withheld other than in accordance with Sections 31B to 31D," immediately after "means" in clause (t).
2 Section 7 of Chapter 246 of the Revised Statutes, 1989 as amended by Chapter 14 of the Acts of 1991, Chapter 4 of the Acts of 2003 (Second Session), Chapter 10 of the Acts of 2006, Chapter 18 of the Acts of 2009, Chapter 37 of the Acts of 2010, Chapter 19 of the Acts of 2011, Chapter 11 of the Acts of 2013 and Chapter 11 of the Acts of 2016, is further amended by adding immediately after clause (a) the following clauses:
- (aa) prescribing classes of payments that are or are not tips or other gratuities;
(ab) prescribing classes of employees to whom tips or other gratuities shall not be redistributed;
3 Chapter 246 is further amended by adding the following heading and Sections immediately after Section 31:
- 31A An employer shall not withhold tips or other gratuities from an employee, make a deduction from an employee's tips or other gratuities or cause the employee to return or give the employee's tips or other gratuities to the employer unless authorized to do so under Sections 31B to 31D.
31B (1) An employer may withhold or make a deduction from an employee's tips or other gratuities or cause the employee to return or give them to the employer if a statute of the Province or the Parliament of Canada or a court order authorizes it.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the statute or order requires the employer to remit the withheld, deducted, returned or given tips or other gratuities to a third person and the employer fails to do so.
31C (1) An employer may withhold or make a deduction from an employee's tips or other gratuities or cause the employee to return or give them to the employer if the employer collects and redistributes tips or other gratuities among some or all of the employer's employees.
(2) Where an employer withholds or makes a deduction from an employee's tips or other gratuities under subsection (1), the employer shall
(a) keep a record of all tips or other gratuities withheld; and
(b) make the record readily available for inspection by employees.
(3) An employer shall not redistribute tips or other gratuities under subsection (1) to such employees as may be prescribed.
(4) Subject to subsections (5) and (6), an employer or a director or shareholder of an employer may not share in tips or other gratuities redistributed under subsection (1).
(5) An employer who is a sole proprietor or a partner in a partnership may share in tips or other gratuities redistributed under subsection (1) if the employer regularly performs to a substantial degree the same work performed by
(a) some or all of the employees who share in the redistribution; or
(b) employees of other employers in the same industry who commonly receive or share tips or other gratuities.
(6) A director or shareholder of an employer may share in tips or other gratuities redistributed under subsection (1) if the director or shareholder regularly performs to a substantial degree the same work performed by
(a) some or all of the employees who share in the redistribution; or
(b) employees of other employers in the same industry who commonly receive or share tips or other gratuities.
31D (1) Where a collective agreement that is in effect on the day this Section comes into force contains a provision that addresses the treatment of employee tips or other gratuities and there is a conflict between the provision of the collective agreement and Sections 31A to 31C, the provision of the collective agreement prevails.
(2) Following the expiry of a collective agreement described in subsection (1), where the provision that addresses the treatment of employee tips or other gratuities remains in effect, subsection (1) continues to apply to that provision, with necessary modifications, until a new collective agreement comes into effect.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2018 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created October 11, 2018. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
