Mr.
Chairman, the Standing
Committee on Social Programs conducted its public review of Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, on February 18, 2008. The committee would like to thank the Minister and his officials for appearing before the committee.
This amendment to the Employment Standards Act will return the definition of “week” to seven consecutive days, as is contained in the current Labour Standards Act. The Employment Standards Act as passed by the last Assembly will come into force on April 1, 2008, and defines a work week as running from Saturday to Saturday midnight. It was determined that this would result in a loss of flexibility for some employers and may result in some employees losing money because of the way
the new definition of a work week would impact on making overtime calculations.
Following the committee’s review, a motion was carried to report Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, to the Assembly as ready for Committee of the Whole.
This concludes the committee’s opening statements on Bill 3. Individual Members may have additional questions or comments as we proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chair.