BILL NO. 127

(as introduced)

2nd Session, 62nd General Assembly
Nova Scotia
64 Elizabeth II, 2015

Government Bill

Labour Standards Code
(amended)

The Honourable Kelly Regan
Minister of Labour and Advanced Education

First Reading: November 19, 2015

(Explanatory Notes)

Second Reading: November 20, 2015

Third Reading: December 8, 2015 (LINK TO BILL AS PASSED)

Clause 2

(a) increases the unpaid compassionate-care leave from eight to 28 weeks;

(b) allows an employee to end and to re-start the unpaid compassionate-care leave during the 52 weeks following the first day of the week when the leave was commenced; and

(c) clarifies that when the leave is re-started after 26 weeks, a further medical certificate is not required.

Clause 3 makes the amendments effective on January 3, 2016.

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 Section 60A of Chapter 246 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Labour Standards Code, is repealed and the following Section substituted:

60A An employee is entitled to an unpaid leave of absence of up to, at the employee's option, five consecutive working days upon the death of the employee's spouse, parent, guardian, child, ward, grandparent, grandchild, sister, brother, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law or brother-in-law.

2 (1) Subsection 60E(2) of Chapter 246, as enacted by Chapter 4 of the Acts of 2003 (2nd Session), is amended by striking out "eight" in the third line and substituting "twenty-eight".

(2) Subclause 60E(3)(b)(ii) of Chapter 246 is repealed and the following subclause substituted:

(ii) the period of fifty-two weeks following the first day of the week referred to in clause (a) ends.

(3) Section 60E of Chapter 246, as enacted by Chapter 4 of the Acts of 2003 (2nd Session), is further amended by adding immediately after subsection (3) the following subsection:

(3A) For greater certainty, but subject to subsection (3), for leave under this Section to be taken after the end of the period of twenty-six weeks set out in subsection (2), it is not necessary for a legally qualified medical practitioner to issue an additional certificate under that subsection.

3 This Act has effect on and after January 3, 2016.