Compassionate Care Leave Changes - What Do They Mean For Employers?

There are recent media reports about the new Federal government agreeing to carry forward with the expansion of compassionate care leave benefits. The previous government passed legislation in June which provided that effective January 3, 2016;

• compassionate care leave under the Canada Labour Code would be expanded from 8 weeks to 28 weeks, and
• employees eligible for compassionate care leave would be eligible for up to 26 weeks of Employment Insurance benefits.

What does this mean for employers?

If you are an employer whose employment standards provisions are federally regulated, for example a

• bank;
• airline;
• radio or television station; or
• interprovincial transport company;