Legislative Update: Leaves to Help Families

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On March 5th, 2013, the Ontario government proposed an amendment to the Employment Standards Act, 2000, (“ESA”), entitled the Employment Standards Amendment Act (Leaves to Help Families), 2013 to create three job-protected leaves:

* Family Caregiver Leave: up to eight weeks of unpaid leave for employees to provide care and support to a family member with a serious medical condition.

  • Critically Ill Child Care Leave: up to 37 weeks of unpaid leave to provide care to a critically ill child.
  • Crime-Related Child Death and Disappearance Leave: up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave for parents of a missing child and up to 104 weeks of unpaid leave for parents of a child that has died as a result of a crime.

These leaves would be separate from those already available under the ESA, including family medical leave.

Bird Richard will keep readers apprised of the status of this proposed amendment.