Human Resources Legislative Update
Canada Labour Code Amendments (Bill C-45) Come into Force April 1, 2014
Date: March 12, 2014
On March 12, 2014, the federal government published an order fixing April 1, 2014 as the date on which key amendments to Part III of the Canada Labour Code (“Code”) outlined in Bill C-45, the Jobs and Growth Act, 2012, come into force.
In part, the Bill C-45 amendments will implement a statutory complaints framework for unpaid wages and other alleged violations of the Code, its regulations or orders made under Part III. Under the new process, the following specific time limits will be imposed on the making of complaints (subject to extension in prescribed circumstances) and for the recovery of unpaid wages through payment orders:
- a six-month time limit on complaints of non-payment of wages or other amounts to which an employee is entitled under Part III (i.e. from the last day on which the employer was required to pay those wages or other amounts under this Part);
- a six-month time limit on any other complaint (i.e. six months from the day on which the subject-matter of the complaint arose); and
- a 12-month time limit on the recovery of unpaid wages through payment orders and a 24-month time limit in respect of unpaid vacation.
