Employer obligations for the October 21 federal election
With the federal election coming up next week on October 21, 2019, it is a good time for a reminder of the employer obligations under the Canada Elections Act.
Employees who are eligible to vote (Canadian citizens who are 18 years of age or older) are entitled to have three consecutive hours while the polls are open in order to do so. Whether an employer is required to allow an employee time off from work to vote depends on the employee’s scheduled working hours and the available polling hours (which vary by region). Where an employer is required to allow such time off from work, it gets to choose the hours.
For example, let’s assume the available polling hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. If the employee is scheduled to work from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., then the employer is not required to provide time off. The employee has (more than) three consecutive hours to vote after work. However, if the employee is scheduled to work from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., then the employer is required to allow the employee additional time off such that the employee has three consecutive hours to vote. In that example, the employer could allow the employee to leave early at 5:30 p.m.
Where an employee is entitled to time off to vote in the federal election, the employer is not permitted to make a deduction from their pay or impose a penalty for that time. This means that the time off to vote must be paid as if the employee worked their full scheduled hours that day.
Finally, please note that there is an exception for employees of certain transportation companies who are employed outside of their polling division in the operation of a means of transportation, if the additional time off cannot be allowed without interfering with the transportation service.
This update is intended for general information only. Should you have questions on the above, please contact a member of our Labour & Employment group.
Click here to subscribe to Stewart McKelvey Thought Leadership.
Archive
Nancy Rubin & Tiegan Scott On July 21, 2022, the Federal government announced a new investment of up to $255 million for clean energy initiatives in Nova Scotia. The funds will be allocated in two…
Read MoreBy: John Samms, Sadira Jan, Paul Kiley, Dave Randell, Alanna Waberski, and Jayna Green Now that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (“GNL”) has amended the Order in Council that had banned Crown titles and…
Read MoreBy Paul Smith, Dave Randell and Graham Haynes On June 9, 2022, the Government of New Brunswick (“GNB”) released a consultation paper entitled Proposal to Modernize the Business Corporations Act (the “Proposal”) which outlines several significant…
Read MoreIncluded in Discovery: Atlantic Education & the Law – Issue 10 Koren Thomson & Josh Merrigan Introduction In the wake of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v…
Read MoreWe are pleased to present the ninth installment of Beyond the Border, a publication for employers aiming to provide the latest information and analysis on new immigration programs and immigration-related issues. In this issue, insight…
Read MoreKathleen Nash The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in Law Society of Saskatchewan v Abrametz clarifies the standard of review applicable to questions of procedural fairness and abuse of process, as it relates to…
Read MoreIncluded in Discovery: Atlantic Education & the Law – Issue 10 Mark Heighton & Chad Sullivan Overview In Marcus Bornfreund v. Mount Allison University, 2022 NBQB 50 the New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench…
Read MoreIncluded in Discovery: Atlantic Education & the Law – Issue 10 Richard Jordan & Jennifer Taylor As the COVID-19 pandemic surges on, so does the flow of misinformation online. Academia has not been immune,…
Read MoreJohn Samms and Matthew Craig Further to our original article published on May 17, 2022 (included below), on the changing energy policy frameworks in Newfoundland and Labrador, the government amended the Order in Council (“OC”)…
Read MoreBy Nancy Rubin & Colton Smith Wind turbine regulations in the Municipality of Cumberland are set to change. On June 22, 2022, Cumberland Council approved a second reading of amendments relating to their…
Read More