Paul Willetts Quoted in the Lawyer's Daily

Vey Willetts lawyer Paul Willetts was quoted in the October 10, 2017 edition of The Lawyer's Daily. The article, "Timing, Privacy Issues Raised over Ontario's Proposed Domestic Violence Leave Bill," considers recent proposed legislation that seeks to provide employees with up to 10 days of paid leave and up to 15 weeks of unpaid leave per year to deal with issues arising from episodes of domestic or sexual violence.   

In the article, Paul noted that given the nature of sexual and domestic violence it may be better for the government to address these issues via a general leave provision in the Employment Standards Act and thus avoid requiring an employee to self-identify as experiencing sexual or domestic violence as a precondition to receiving leave from work:

Situations of sexual and domestic violence are highly personal and not something that many people wish to share with their employer. For example, perhaps the proposed personal emergency leave could instead be expanded to incorporate instances of sexual and domestic violence, thus allowing people to have leave while retaining privacy over their personal life

Willetts also noted that the proposed legislation does not include a 'cut-off' for the paid aspect of the leave based on employer size. He suggested that "the province may want to limit the requirement to provide paid leave to employers with 50 staff or more, to better reflect the economic reality of small employers in the province."

If you are an Ontario employee or employer and have questions about changes in Ontario's employment laws, please contact us directly. 

Vey Willetts LLP is an Ottawa-based employment and labour law firm that provides timely and cost-effective legal advice to help employees and employers resolve workplace issues in Ottawa and across Ontario. 613-238-4430 or info@vwlawyers.ca