Province begins consultations on job protection for illness-related leave

Labour Minister Jill Balser hopes to know soon whether she will have legislation for the fall session at Province House that would increase the amount of illness-related leave a person can take from work without worrying about losing their job.

Officials in Balser's department are canvassing about 170 professional and community groups and organizations that represent employees, employers and labour to gain perspectives on potential changes to the Labour Standards Code. The minister expects that work to be complete in May.

"The goal now is to find out what that feedback is and have that informed discussion that can very well lead to change, hopefully, in an upcoming session," Balser said in an interview at Province House on Wednesday.

In Nova Scotia currently, a person who takes an illness-related leave from work is only guaranteed job protection for three days.

Last April, the Liberals introduced a bill that would provide 26 weeks of unpaid job protection for someone with a critical illness, a bill that mirrors benefits available to federal employees.

Liberal resolution

During the fall session of the legislature, a Liberal resolution passed with all-party support that committed the government to consult on and study the issue in time for the current spring session.

Balser said the work, which started this month, did not happen sooner because she was concerned that if it were conducted around the holiday season it wouldn't garner enough feedback.

"We want to be able to reach Nova Scotians to better understand how this legislation will impact them — not just workers but also businesses. We need to hear from them [on] if we're going to implement some changes, what and how this might impact them."

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said the delay is unacceptable.

The government's willingness to pass the resolution last fall was one of the reasons the Liberals agreed to end a filibuster that slowed proceedings at Province House to a near halt, he said.

"We fought hard to make sure that people who are dealing with the most severe illnesses are actually protected from losing their job," Churchill said in an interview.

"This should have happened this session. They promised to do it for this session and it should have been in this budget."

Nova Scotia's job protection for critical-illness leave is the worst in the country, Churchill said.

"Imagine getting the worst diagnosis you can imagine and then learning that you're only protected from losing your job for three days."

Balser said she sees value in trying to change the rules to align with other systems, such as the federal benefits, to make sure that when someone is sick they have the time they need to focus on getting better without having to worry about whether their job will be there when they're ready to return to work.

A government spokesperson said members of the public with thoughts on the issue or ways to enhance existing unpaid sick leave provisions for general illness can email them to the Labour Department.