The Labour Statutes Amendment Act (formerly Bill-17) received royal assent on May 31, 2022. This legislation provides Albertans with expanded access to time away from work to attend to personal matters.
The Act allows access to bereavement leave for pregnancy loss. Employees, who have been employed for at least 90 days with the same employer, would be able to take up to three days of paid bereavement leave per calendar year. There is no requirement to provide proof of entitlement for the leave.[1]
The Act also allows for reservists to take as much as time they need to attend annual training, thus removing the 20-day limitation. This provision is for reservists who have worked a minimum of twelve consecutive weeks with the same employer.
Lastly, the Act indefinitely allows academic staff, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellow associations to maintain the exclusive right to represent their members in collective bargaining negotiations.[2]
Employment law practitioners should be aware of these updates to Alberta’s labour legislation and Labour Relations Code. For more information, click here and read the Government of Alberta’s official notice here. If you practice in labour and employment, you may be interested in LESA’s Alberta Labour Relations Code Practitioner’s Manual. This manual contains an annotated version of the Alberta Labour Relations Code as well as a full set of Alberta Labour Relations Board application forms, rules of procedure, voting rules, and all information bulletins. Plus, as a LESA Library subscriber you gain complimentary access to LESA’s Specialized Areas of Law collection which includes resources related to labour and employment. Click here to learn more.
[1] “More job protection in times of need,” online: Government of Alberta [https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=824030715162C-A7BF-21BC-1773C264D2454CB3].
[2] “Providing Albertans extra job protection,” online: Government of Alberta [https://www.alberta.ca/providing-albertans-extra-job-protection.aspx].
