Alberta’s NDP government on Wednesday tabled the first major overhaul of the province’s workplace rules in almost 30 years. Here are some of the proposed changes in the Fair and Family-friendly Workplaces Act:
- Guaranteed job protection for people taking unpaid leave for illness, injury, personal and family responsibility, bereavement, domestic violence or disappearance of a child. An individual must have worked for an employer for 90 days to qualify.
- Job protection for maternity leave extended to 16 weeks from 15 weeks. Parental leave extended to 52 weeks from 37 weeks.
- Minimum 30-minute break (paid or unpaid) for every five hours of consecutive employment.
- Employers would no longer be able to apply to pay people with disabilities less than the minimum wage.
- Minimum work age raised to 13 from 12.
- Overtime would be banked at 1.5 hours for every hour worked instead of straight time.
- Overtime could be banked for up to six months.
- Minimum annual vacation would be two weeks off and paid at a rate of at least four per cent of an employee’s salary.
- Unions could be certified without a secret ballot if more than 65 per cent of employees had verified membership cards. Less than 66 per cent would still require a vote.
- Essential services rules extended to continuing-care sector, health-care labs and blood-supply workers to ensure key staff are on the job during labour disputes.
- Family members employed on a family’s farm would be exempt from all employment standards.
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