A new report is calling on the Newfoundland and Labrador government to establish presumptive legislation for post-traumatic stress disorder and occupational stress, as well as a law that outlines an employer’s responsibility in developing an approach to preventing those types of injuries. The report, published by the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees, Memorial University of Newfoundland […]
The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal’s recent ruling that it’s unconstitutional for plan sponsors to discontinue benefits for employees after the age of 65 represents a fundamental shift for employers, according to one labour and employment lawyer. “Previously, the Human Rights Tribunal would not enforce any discrimination issues if employers were to cut off benefits at […]
Expanded leave of absence entitlements in British Columbia, including parental and compassionate leave, took effect at the end of May. The changes to the province’s Employment Standards Act allow mothers to start their maternity leave as early as 13 weeks before their expected due date, which is up from the previous 11 weeks. The province also […]
Life doesn’t always happen outside of business hours. Everyone experiences the challenges of managing elements of their personal lives while being physically and mentally present at work. Employers understand the importance of helping their workers manage work and life obligations, and many have policies and practices in place to help them attain that balance. In many ways, […]
As lobbying efforts intensify to keep Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ employees in the public service pension, plans are moving ahead to convert a multi-union, multi-employer plan into a target-benefit arrangement. Collective agreements ratified in September 2015 between the United Steelworkers union and CNL state that employees hired before that date would stay in the public plan until September 2018, […]
While a new report shows that introducing a tax on employer-paid health benefits would add $3.8 billion to the federal government’s coffers in the 2018 tax year, it would also dramatically raise health-care costs for many Canadians, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association. Tasked with measuring the federal fiscal impact of including employer-paid health […]
Earlier this month, the Pension Investment Association of Canada came out in support of Ontario’s proposed regulations for variable benefits from defined contribution pension plans. The support came with a caveat, however. “PIAC supports the proposal that the provision of variable benefits from DC plans is voluntary for employers,” Brenda King, chair of the association, […]
In advance of Ontario’s election on June 7, the Human Resources Professionals Association is setting out several recommendations for the province’s political parties, including more clarity around recreational marijuana rules. In light of the drug’s impending legalization, the HRPA’s election suggestions call for setting a clear legal definition of impairment as well as the grounds under which an employer […]
New federal legislation around pharmaceutical patents will impose significant costs on public and private drug plans, the parliamentary budget officer is predicting. The legislation would have cost drug plans and consumers an extra $392 million in 2015 had it been in place that year, the report, released in late April, estimates. Of that, $214 million […]
Ontario passed pay transparency legislation on Thursday, making it the first province to do so. Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, the province will require all job postings advertised publicly to include salary rate or range information, prohibit employers from asking candidates about past compensation and ban reprisals against workers who discuss or disclose their pay, according to […]