On 8 May 2019 Bill 18 – Workers Compensation Amendment Act 2019 passed its third reading in the British Columbia Legislature. Bill 18 proposes to expand the definition of 'firefighter' under the Workers Compensation Act for the purpose of presumptions in favour of compensation for firefighters. If passed, fire investigators, forest firefighters and firefighters employed by first nations, band councils and other indigenous organisations will be included in the definition of 'firefighter' under the act.
The amendment is being made in order to:
- reflect changes in understanding around the risk of carcinogen exposure prevalent in forest firefighting; and
- rectify gaps in coverage for certain types of firefighter that exist under the current legislation.
Bill 18 also follows amendments made to the Workers Compensation Act in 2018 to include presumptions in favour of compensation for certain mental illnesses for certain occupations, including firefighters.
On 13 May 2019 the second reading of Bill 8 – Employment Standards Amendment Act 2019 was held (for further details please see "Bill 8: major changes to Employment Standards Act introduced"). A second reading is where a bill is further introduced and members of the Legislative Assembly debate its general principles and goal.
During the second reading, Labour Minister Harry Bains provided the following additional details around some of the government's proposed amendments:
- Wage recovery period – Bill 8 seeks to extend the wage recovery period to enable recovery of 12 months' owed wages, up from the current six months – with the possibility of extending the period to 24 months in extreme circumstances. Bains suggested that the 12-month recovery period will apply to complaints currently before the Employment Standards Branch where a determination is not made (or a complaint is not settled) before Bill 8 passes into law.
- Ability to waive monetary penalties – Bill 8 proposes to provide the director of employment standards with the authority to waive a mandatory penalty arising from non-compliance with the Employment Standards Act. While employers will have to wait to see what is set out in the regulations, Bains indicated that the types of situation that may result in the director waiving a penalty include where:
- an employer pays all wages owed to employees following an investigation;
- an employer's contravention of the Employment Standards Act is accidental and not due to negligence; and
- an employer has a good basis for contesting the matter (eg, where there is uncertainty around the proper interpretation of the Employment Standards Act).
- Complaint investigations – Bill 8 would require the Employment Standards Branch to conduct a preliminary review and investigate all complaints accepted by it. Bains indicated that this will result in the Employment Standards Branch focusing less on "speedy resolutions" and more on digging into matters, including conducting broader investigations of the workplace where a complaint shows a systemic problem.
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