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On December 8, 2011, the Ontario government introduced Bill 30, Family Caregiver Leave Act (Employment Standards Amendment), 2011, legislation that, if passed, will amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to create Family Caregiver Leave, effective July 1, 2012. If passed, the new legislation would build on the existing Family Medical Leave to provide up to 8 weeks of unpaid leave for employees to provide care and support, without fear of losing his or her job, to a sick or injured family member. Family members include:

• a spouse;
• the parent, step-parent or foster parent of the employee or the employee's spouse;
• a child, step-child or foster child of the employee or the employee's spouse;
• a grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchild or step-grandchild of the employee or the employee's spouse;
• the spouse of the child of the employee;
• the employee's brother or sister; or
• a relative of the employee who is dependent on the employee for care or assistance.

An employee would be required to have a medical certificate from a qualified health practitioner stating that the employee's family member has a serious medical condition in order to be eligible for the leave. The employee would have to produce the medical certificate if requested by his or her employer.

The proposed leave is up to eight weeks per calendar year with respect to each family member set out in the legislation and must be taken in periods of entire weeks. Moreover, the entitlement to Family Caregiver Leave is in addition to an employee’s entitlement to Family Medical Leave (up to eight weeks) or Personal Emergency Leave (10 days) already available under the ESA.

We will keep you updated on Bill 30 as it progresses through the enactment process.

If you have any questions or comments regarding Bill 30, please contact: Ruben Goulart or Patrizia Piccolo.