2024 Nova Scotia election: Employer obligations
By Killian McParland and Sophie Poulos
As recently announced, the next Nova Scotia provincial election will be held on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.
Under Nova Scotia’s Elections Act, every employee who is an eligible voter (i.e. a Canadian citizen, aged 18 and older, who has lived in Nova Scotia since April 27, 2024) is entitled to have three consecutive hours available to vote while polls are open on election day.
Voting hours on election day will be from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Employers are required to provide an employee with paid time off on election day if the employee’s work schedule does not already provide them with three consecutive hours to vote.
For example, an employee scheduled to work from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on election day will already have three consecutive hours to vote after work (5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.), and is therefore not entitled to time off.
However, an employee scheduled to work from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on election day would only have one hour available to vote (7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.), and therefore must be provided additional time off with pay to ensure the employee has at least three consecutive hours to vote.
Where required, employers have the discretion to determine when the paid time off will be granted to provide the employee with three consecutive hours during voting hours. For example, in the example above, the employer may choose to allow the employee to leave work early at 5:00 p.m., resulting in two hours’ time off with pay (5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.), while leaving three consecutive voting hours at the end of the day (5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.).
Certain workers may be exempt from the three-hour rule, depending on the industry.
It is an offence for an employer to refuse or interfere with an employee’s right to three consecutive hours for voting, or to fail to provide any such time off with pay as required.
This client update is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have any questions about the above, please contact the authors, or a member of our Labour & Employment Group.
Click here to subscribe to Stewart McKelvey Thought Leadership.
Archive
By Brittany C. Trafford, Brendan Sheridan and Kaitlyn Clarke Recently, the Government of Canada made a number of changes to the immigration landscape in an effort to rein in the population growth, address the housing supply…
Read MoreBy Jacob E. Zelman Many organizations in Canada rely heavily on the efforts of volunteers to assist with the delivery of services they provide. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has recently provided new guidance…
Read MoreJoe Thorne & Jennifer Taylor In 2005, a bus accident occurred in Nova Scotia. The people injured in the accident were residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, which is where they sued the bus owner and driver…
Read MoreBy Killian McParland and Sophie Poulos As recently announced, the next Nova Scotia provincial election will be held on Tuesday, November 26, 2024. Under Nova Scotia’s Elections Act, every employee who is an eligible voter (i.e.…
Read MoreBy Sadira Jan, Dave Randell, Nancy Rubin, Kimberly MacLachlan, and Onye Njoku Bill 471, the Advancing Nova Scotia Opportunities Act, received Royal Assent and introduces changes to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation…
Read MoreBy Sadira Jan, Dave Randell, Nancy Rubin, G. John Samms, Kimberly MacLachlan, and Jamie Gamblin Bill C-49 received Royal Assent and will amend the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia…
Read MoreBy John Morse The New Brunswick provincial election is set to take place on Monday, October 21, 2024, with polling hours between 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Under the New Brunswick Elections Act, all employees…
Read MoreLevel Chan and Dante Manna On September 9, 2024, the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA) released the long-awaited final revisions to Guideline No. 3 – Guideline for Capital Accumulation Plans (CAPs) and the…
Read MoreSean Kelly and Tiegan A. Scott On September 5, 2024, the “Stronger Workplaces for Nova Scotia Act” (Bill No. 464) was introduced in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for first reading by the Honourable Jill Balser…
Read MoreJohn A.C. Morse and Lauren Sorel The Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta (the “Tribunal”) recently awarded three complainants a total of $273,274.91 in compensation, with $155,000.00 of this amount designated as general damages – a…
Read More