Providing Albertans extra job protection

Overview

Bill 17, the Labour Statutes Amendment Act, would provide Albertans with more job-protected time to attend to personal matters by updating bereavement and reservist leaves rules for employees.

If passed, the bill will expand access to bereavement leave so employees who experience a pregnancy loss have time to grieve while knowing they still have a job to go back to.

Bill 17 would also remove the 20-day limit on the amount of time reservists can take for annual training. Removing this limit would allow reservists to attend training while maintaining their civilian employment without having to use other entitlements, such as vacation time.

Key changes

If passed, Bill 17 will amend the Employment Standards Code and Labour Relations Code to:

• allow employees who have been with the same employer for at least 90 days and who would have been parents, such as biological, adoptive, or surrogates, to take bereavement leave when a pregnancy ends other than in a live birth. Employees can still take up to 3 days of bereavement leave in total per calendar year
• allow reservists who have worked at least 12 consecutive weeks for the same employer to take as much time as they need to attend annual reservist training by removing the 20-day limit on annual training for reservist leave
• allow academic staff, graduate students and postdoctoral fellow associations to continue representing their respective members in collective bargaining indefinitely

Next steps

If passed, Bill 17 changes to bereavement and reservist leave will take effect upon Royal Assent. Changes that maintain the status quo for academic staff, graduate students and postdoctoral fellow associations will take effect on July 1, 2022.

News

• More job protection in times of need (April 21, 2022)