A new legislation regarding employment leave became effective in New Brunswick on September 1^st, 2018 (Bungay and Brown-Gellert, 2018). This legislation provides protection for employees and their children suffering from domestic, sexual, or intimate partner violence (Bungay and Brown-Gellert, 2018). This new legislation, Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Violence or Sexual Violence Leave Regulation, is an amendment to the Employment Standards Act (Bungay and Brown-Gellert, 2018). This new regulation allows employees to take time off in order to seek psychological and physical medical care, to seek legal assistance, and to relocate should such cases of violence occur to themselves or to their children (Bungay and Brown-Gellert, 2018). Only one Violence Leave, regardless of type, is permitted on an annual basis, and the duration of the leave varies between 10 days to 16 continuous weeks depending on the type of violence leave required (Bungay and Brown-Gellert, 2018). The employee will receive full pay for the first five days of a Violence leave (Bungay and Brown-Gellert, 2018). The employee would need to have worked for 90 days for the employer in order to be eligible for the leave (Bungay and Brown-Gellert, 2018).

This new legislation would have benefits and limitations for employees and employers. The new regulation will encourage employees to seek medical and legal assistance in cases of domestic, sexual or intimate partner violence. Such assistances would help to reduce stress for the employee, which in turn could increase or maintain the employee’s productivity at the workplace. This new legislation will also encourage employees, and their children, to speak out against their abusers as financial consequences are reduced. Furthermore, child victims of such violence would have the much-needed support of their parents in such difficult situations. However, such violence cases could be long and hard to deal with, and thus a five-day pay may not be enough financial support for the employee to fully resolve the situation. Furthermore, competition within the workplace may discourage employees from taking such a leave. In addition, it may be difficult for the employer to ask the employee to provide evidence for such a violence as it is a sensitive issue. Employers may also need to provide training for human resource employees to handle such confidential information. Overall, I believe this new legislation would help those in such violence cases, but regulatory measures, for example, the method of providing proof of violence, should be elaborated.

Reference: 

Bungay, J. and Brown-Gellert M. (2018, September 27). New employment leave introduced in New Brunswick. Canadian Employment Law Today. Retrieved from https://www.employmentlawtoday.com/article/38144-new-employment-leave-introduced-in-new-brunswick/

Hello everyone,

I’m Ginny, and I’m a fourth-year Life Sciences student who is really looking forward to graduating next year! As for some basic information about me, I grew up in Vancouver; the freezing cold and dry winters here in Ontario were quite a surprise to me, even though I was warned…multiple times. Nevertheless, I loved my experience here at Queen’s, and I’ve eventually gotten used to my big red parka that feels like an insulating barrier against the icy air.

I’ve taken mostly science courses the past couple of years, so I wanted to branch out and take courses in subjects that are not within my comfort zone. I decided to enroll in this course because I wanted to learn the basics of employment law, and how the law acts to protect my interests in an employee-employer relationship. I also think it is beneficial to understand the law from the employer’s point of view as there are always two sides to an equation. I’m interested in Module 3: Human Rights in the Workplace, but the first two modules have been intriguing as well.

Thank you for reading my post!

All the Best,

Ginny

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Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton