Modernized service of documents and wage rules

Summary#

This is a proposed set of changes published in the Canada Gazette on October 1, 2022. The package would modernize how certain labour‑standards documents can be served and set clear rules for calculating an employee’s regular pay when they must attend hearings before the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). Comments were invited for 30 days, so the deadline was October 31, 2022.

What it does#

• Service of documents

  • Updates the Canada Labour Standards Regulations to allow delivery by courier, fax or other electronic means, and leaving a document with an adult at an employee’s last known household address.
  • Adds a formal “substitutional service” option: if someone can’t reasonably be reached by the normal methods, the Labour Program can leave the document at the person’s last known address, place of business, usual residence or workplace.
  • Acceptable proof of service now includes an acknowledgement signed by the recipient, a certificate signed by the server, a courier receipt, or a record of electronic transmission.
  • Clarifies when service is “deemed” complete: courier service is deemed complete on the seventh day after sending (if there is no signed acknowledgement), and electronic service is deemed complete on the same day it is sent.

• Regular rate of wages for CIRB appearances

  • Amends the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations and the Canada Labour Standards Regulations to give a clear formula for employees who are not paid by the hour (for example, piecework or commission).
  • General rule: use wages earned over the previous 4-week period divided by hours worked in that period (excluding overtime) to compute an hourly rate. Pay for the hearing = hours spent at the hearing × that hourly rate.
  • For employees paid partly or wholly by commission who have at least 12 weeks of continuous employment, use the previous 12-week period instead.
  • If a collective agreement already sets a rate or method, that applies instead.
  • If the employer cannot calculate hours (because records are not required) or the computed rate is below the applicable minimum wage, use the minimum wage instead.
  • Certain payments are excluded from the calculations, including vacation pay, general holiday pay, personal leave pay, pay for leave for victims of family violence, bereavement pay, and overtime.

• Administrative monetary penalties (AMPs)

  • Makes small changes to the AMPs schedules to reclassify three pay‑related provisions under Part II of the Code from a higher category to align them with equivalent Part III provisions.

Who's affected#

• Employees who must appear before the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) because they are parties or are summoned. This includes people paid by commission, piece rate, haulage, or other non‑hourly systems.
• Employers in federally regulated industries, such as:
  • banks, airlines and airports, railways, shipping and trucking, telecommunications and broadcasting, port operations, and federally regulated Crown corporations.
• Labour Program inspectors and enforcement staff, who will use the new methods to serve documents.
• On‑reserve Indigenous employers and employees are included because Parts II and III cover some Indigenous workplaces.
• Small businesses are unlikely to see meaningful new costs, according to the government analysis.

Why it matters#

• Makes it easier for the Labour Program to reach employers who are hard to contact. That should help speed up enforcement and increase the chance employees receive money or compliance ordered by the regulator.
• Gives employers and workers a clear, consistent method to calculate pay for time spent at CIRB hearings. That should reduce disputes about how much to pay people who are not paid by the hour.
• Introduces modern delivery methods (like email) and clear proof rules, which can save time and reduce repeated in‑person attempts to serve documents.
• The government says the direct costs are small, and the changes mainly clarify procedures rather than create new obligations.