Victims of violence, children, servers and those caring for critically-ill loved ones are in line for better job protections as the B.C. government attempts to make transformative changes to the provincial Employment Standards Act.
The new rules were proposed by Labour Minister Harry Bains Monday in a bill entitled "Employment Standards Amendment Act 2019." The minister outlined priority areas, including protecting child workers, modernizing the employment standards system, establishing new unpaid leaves, and strengthening wage recovery for workers. After the bill is passed by a majority of MLAs it would become law.
"Working people are the lifeblood of this province and yet our employment standards haven’t always protected them," said Bains at a news conference after he introduced the bill.
The legislation aims to raise the age children can start working from 12 to 16. There will also be restrictions on the kind of work they can do. Teens aged 14 and 15 will be able to work provided it is light in nature or in the recorded and live entertainment fields, as long as their parents approve. More details are expected when the regulations are created.
During a technical briefing, ministry staff said there is evidence kids as young as 12 were working in dangerous or hazardous environments due to a system that weighted parental consent heavily.
The bill proposes that those suffering violence will get up to 10 days of unpaid leave, for which they can’t be fired. Those days don’t have to be taken consecutively. Another option allows workers up to 15 weeks of consecutive leave. Currently, a majority of provinces in Canada have some form of job-protected leave. The leave is available to victims of violence or those hoping to protect their children.
For those caring with family members who are critically ill, there are also new unpaid leaves being made available by the province. That means 36 weeks for a child and 16 weeks for an adult. This follows changes made at the federal level.
Servers are also getting protection with more regulation around tips, and those owed wages will also have more time to recover the money.
The review comes after changes were last made in the early 2000s under the previous Liberal government. Technology’s role in the workplace and flexibility desired by both employers and employees are mentioned as some of the drivers of the review. There has also been an increase in part-time work.
The legislation tabled Monday follows consultation with the public and stakeholders, as well as a review of the act by the BC Law Institute.
The 2019 budget also included nearly $14 million in funding over three years to facilitate the changes.
