Bill 31 explained in plain English
Jonathan's Law (Employee Leave of Absence When Child Dies), 2016
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000, to provide eligible employees with up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave upon the death of their child.
Bill 31, also known as Jonathan's Law (Employee Leave of Absence When Child Dies), 2016, amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000. It allows employees who have worked for an employer for at least six consecutive months to take up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave if their child dies. The leave must be taken within the 52 weeks following the child's death and can only be taken as a single period. Employees must notify their employer in writing of their intention to take the leave and provide a plan for when they will take it, with provisions for changes to this plan. Employers may request reasonable evidence of the employee's entitlement to the leave. This entitlement is in addition to any other leaves the employee may be eligible for under the Act. The law comes into effect on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Establishes a new entitlement for employees to take a leave of absence without pay.
- Specifies that the leave is available to employees who have been employed for at least six consecutive months.
- Sets the maximum duration of this leave at 52 weeks.
- Makes the leave available to employees whose child dies.
- Defines 'child' for the purposes of this leave as a child, step-child, or foster child under 18 years of age.
- States that the leave must be taken within the 52-week period beginning the week the child dies.
- Requires the leave to be taken in a single period.
- Includes an exception where an employee is not entitled to the leave if they are charged with a crime related to the child's death.
- Specifies the total amount of leave that can be taken by one or more employees in relation to the death of a child or deaths from the same event is 52 weeks.
- Requires employees to provide written notice to their employer and a written plan indicating when the leave will be taken.
- Outlines procedures for employees who need to start leave before notifying their employer or who wish to change their leave plan.
- Allows employers to request reasonable evidence of the employee's entitlement to the leave.
- Clarifies that this leave entitlement is in addition to other leaves provided by the Employment Standards Act, 2000.
- States that the Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Employees in Ontario who have been employed for at least six consecutive months.
- Employers in Ontario.
- The families of employees whose children die.
- Employees have the right to a leave of absence without pay of up to 52 weeks if their child dies, provided they meet employment duration requirements.
- Employees have the right to take this leave in a single period within 52 weeks of the child's death.
- Employees have the obligation to notify their employer in writing of their intent to take the leave and provide a written plan.
- Employers have the right to request reasonable evidence of an employee's entitlement to this leave.
- Employers have the obligation to grant this leave to eligible employees, subject to the Act's provisions.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The leave is unpaid, meaning employees will not receive wages during this period.
- The bill does not specify what constitutes 'reasonable evidence' that an employer may require.
- The bill does not detail the process or consequences if an employee fails to provide notice or a plan, or if an employer unreasonably denies a leave or a change to a plan.
- The bill does not define 'child' beyond 'under 18 years of age', potentially leaving ambiguity for young adults.
- The bill states the leave applies 'in a circumstance other than one in which subsection 49.5 (2) applies', but the content of subsection 49.5 (2) is not provided in the given text, creating an external dependency for full understanding.
- The bill does not explicitly state how disputes regarding this leave would be resolved.
Adds a new section (49.4.1) to create a leave of absence for employees whose child dies, outlining eligibility, duration, notice requirements, and evidence.
Source: Section 1
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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