On December 8, 2011, the McGuinty government introduced Bill 30, Family Caregiver Leave Act
(Employment Standards Amendment), 2011.
Bill 30, if passed, will amend the Employment Standards Act,
2000 to create an additional type of
job-protected leave: Family Caregiver Leave.
The proposed Family Caregiver Leave will allow employees to take
up to eight weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to attend to
prescribed relatives who have fallen ill.
"Relatives" will include an employee's spouse,
parent, child, the spouse of his or her child, grandparent,
sibling, or a relative who is dependent on the employee for care or
assistance.
An employee will become eligible for Family Caregiver Leave once
a qualified health care practitioner has issued a certificate
stating that the family member in question has a serious medical
condition. Employers will have the ability to request a copy
of this certificate, and once requested it must be produced by the
employee.
