BILL NO. 236

(as introduced)

1st Session, 64th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
1 Charles III, 2022

 

Private Member's Bill

 

Labour Standards Code
(amended)

 

Kendra Coombes
Cape Breton Centre–Whitney Pier

First Reading: October 27, 2022

(Explanatory Notes)

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

Explanatory Notes

Clause 1 amends the Labour Standards Code to require the Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration to review exemptions to the maximum work week made under the regulations and includes specific items the review must include.

Clause 2

(a) shortens the maximum work week before increased pay is required from 48 hours to 40 hours; and

(b) requires employees to be paid one and a half times their hourly wage when working in excess of eight hours in a day.

An Act to Amend Chapter 246
of the Revised Statutes, 1989,
the Labour Standards Code,
Respecting Hours of Work

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 Section 4 of Chapter 246 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Labour Standards Code, is amended by adding immediately after subsection (2) the following subsections:

(3) The Minister shall conduct a review of exemptions to subsection 40(4) made under subsection (2) no later than April 1, 2023.

(4) The review under subsection (3) must

(a) include an evaluation of the justification for each exemption and whether that justification is still applicable;

(b) be based on the principle that exemptions to the Code should impair labour rights to the minimum extent possible; and

(c) include consultation with

(i) stakeholders in exempted named professions and classes of work,

(ii) workers in exempted named professions and classes of work,

(iii) labour unions,

(iv) academics or other experts in the fields of labour relations and workplace health and safety, and

(v) the general public.

2 (1) Subsection 40(4) of Chapter 246, as enacted by Chapter 7 of the Acts of 2003 (Second Session), is amended by striking out "forty-eight" in the second and last lines and substituting "forty" in each case.

(2) Section 40 of Chapter 246, as amended by Chapter 7 of the Acts of 2003 (Second Session), is further amended by adding immediately after subsection (4) the following subsections:

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, where an employee is required to work more than eight hours in a day, that employee shall be paid one and a half times the employee's regular hourly wage for each additional hour worked in that day in excess of eight hours.

(6) For the purpose of subsection (5), where an employee works continuously across two different days, the cumulative length of continuous work must be used in determining the number of hours the employee has worked in a day.

(7) For the purpose of subsection (6), work is continuous where there is not a rest period of at least six hours between working periods.

 

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