[38] Bill 56 Royal Assent (PDF)
Bill 56 2004
An Act to amend the
Employment Standards Act, 2000
in respect of family medical leave
and other matters
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
1. Subsection 44 (1) of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 is amended by striking out "age, sex, marital status or same-sex partnership status" in the portion before paragraph 1 and substituting "age, sex or marital status".
2. (1) The definition of "same-sex partner" in section 45 of the Act is repealed.
(2) The definition of "spouse" in section 45 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
"spouse" means either of two persons who,
(a) are married to each other within the meaning of clause (a) of the definition of "spouse" in section 1 of the Family Law Act,
(b) have together entered into a marriage that is voidable or void, in good faith on the part of a person relying on this clause to assert any right, or
(c) live together in a conjugal relationship outside marriage. ("conjoint")
3. The Act is amended by adding the following section:
Family Medical Leave
Family medical leave
49.1 (1) In this section,
"qualified health practitioner" means a person who is qualified to practise medicine under the laws of the jurisdiction in which care or treatment is provided to the individual described in subsection (3) or, in the prescribed circumstances, a member of a prescribed class of health practitioners; ("practicien de la santé qualifié")
"week" means a period of seven consecutive days beginning on Sunday and ending on Saturday. ("semaine")
Entitlement to leave
(2) An employee is entitled to a leave of absence without pay of up to eight weeks to provide care or support to an individual described in subsection (3) if a qualified health practitioner issues a certificate stating that the individual has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death occurring within a period of 26 weeks or such shorter period as may be prescribed.
Application of subs. (2)
(3) Subsection (2) applies in respect of the following individuals:
1. The employee's spouse.
2. A parent, step-parent or foster parent of the employee.
3. A child, step-child or foster child of the employee or the employee's spouse.
4. Any individual prescribed as a family member for the purpose of this section.
Earliest date leave can begin
(4) The employee may begin a leave under this section no earlier than the first day of the week in which the period referred to in subsection (2) begins.
Latest date employee can remain on leave
(5) The employee may not remain on a leave under this section after the earlier of the following dates:
1. The last day of the week in which the individual described in subsection (3) dies.
2. The last day of the week in which the period referred to in subsection (2) ends.
Two or more employees
(6) If two or more employees take leaves under this section in respect of a particular individual, the total of the leaves taken by all the employees shall not exceed eight weeks during the period referred to in subsection (2) that applies to the first certificate issued for the purpose of this section.
Full-week periods
(7) An employee may take a leave under this section only in periods of entire weeks.
Advising employer
(8) An employee who wishes to take leave under this section shall advise his or her employer in writing that he or she will be doing so.
Same
(9) If the employee must begin the leave before advising the employer, the employee shall advise the employer of the leave in writing as soon as possible after beginning it.
Copy of certificate
(10) If requested by the employer, the employee shall provide the employer with a copy of the certificate referred to in subsection (2) as soon as possible.
Further leave
(11) If an employee takes a leave under this section and the individual referred to in subsection (3) does not die within the period referred to in subsection (2), the employee may, in accordance with this section, take another leave and, for that purpose, the reference in subsection (6) to "the first certificate" shall be deemed to be a reference to the first certificate issued after the end of that period.
Leave under s. 50
(12) An employee's entitlement to leave under this section is in addition to any entitlement to leave under section 50.
4. Subsection 50 (2) of the Act is amended by,
(a) striking out "spouse or same-sex partner" at the end of paragraph 1 and substituting "spouse";
(b) striking out "the employee, the employee's spouse or the employee's same-sex partner" at the end of paragraph 2 and substituting "the employee or the employee's spouse";
(c) striking out "the employee, the employee's spouse or the employee's same-sex partner" at the end of paragraph 3 and substituting "the employee or the employee's spouse";
(d) striking out "the employee's spouse or same-sex partner" at the end of paragraph 4 and substituting "the employee's spouse"; and
(e) striking out "The spouse or same-sex partner" at the beginning of paragraph 5 and substituting "The spouse".
5. Clause 141 (2) (b) of the Act is amended by striking out "age, sex, marital status or same-sex partnership status" and substituting "age, sex or marital status".
Commencement
6. (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
Same
(2) Sections 1 and 5 come into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
Short title
7. The short title of this Act is the Employment Standards Amendment Act (Family Medical Leave), 2004.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Explanatory Note was written as a reader's aid to Bill 56 and does not form part of the law. Bill 56 has been enacted as Chapter 15 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2004.
The Bill amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to entitle employees to up to eight weeks of leave of absence without pay to provide care or support to specified family members. The provision applies if the family member suffers from a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death occurring within a period of 26 weeks or such shorter period as may be prescribed by regulation. (See section 3 of the Bill, which enacts a new section 49.1 of the Act.)
The other provisions of the Bill amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to reflect the June 2003 ruling of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Halpern v. Canada (Attorney General), (2003) 65 O.R. (3d) 161 (C.A.), which allowed same-sex couples to marry. The Court's ruling is available on the Internet at http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/decisions/2003/june/halpernC39172.htm.