Quebec Overhauls Labour Standards and Safety

Summary#

This Quebec law updates several labour laws to speed up dispute handling, strengthen protections for workers, and raise penalties for violations. It also adds new unpaid leave for public health orders or disasters, expands leave for Canadian Forces reservists, adjusts workers’ compensation rules, and makes changes to workplace health and safety.

Key changes and impacts:

• Sets deadlines and encourages mediation in union grievance arbitration; increases fines for violations.
• Lets any executive who personally works for another employer count as a “worker” for injury coverage.
• Revalues injured workers’ income base each year and uses the higher income on recurrences; tightens privacy with higher fines, especially for cases tied to violence.
• Adds an unpaid leave if you cannot work due to a public health decision or a disaster; expands reservist leave and reasons.
• Allows the labour standards and safety commission (CNESST) to repay part of wages to employers who reassign pregnant or breastfeeding workers; adds two members to its board.
• Removes Canadian citizenship requirements in the Professional Syndicates Act; tightens access to health files at the labour tribunal; updates some building safety powers.
• Many parts take effect in late 2025 and 2026; some workers’ compensation changes start in 2027.

What it means for you#

• Workers

  • If you’re hurt at work, the income used to calculate your wage-loss benefits will be updated every year on your injury anniversary. On a recurrence or aggravation, the higher of your current job income or your original income base will be used. There are set minimum and maximum amounts. Starts in 2027.
  • If your injury comes from physical or psychological violence (including sexual violence), fines for illegal access or sharing of your medical file are higher.
  • New unpaid leave if you can’t work because of a public health order, quarantine, emergency measures, or a disaster (or its imminence). You must inform your employer as soon as possible and try to limit the length of the leave. No doctor’s note can be required, but other proof can be asked for if justified.
  • Grievances: mediation must be considered; first hearing should start within 1 year unless the arbitrator decides otherwise. Evidence and witness lists usually must be shared 30 days before the hearing. Some rules start in Oct. 2026.
  • National Holiday (June 24): fines for violations are higher.

• Pregnant or breastfeeding workers

  • If you are reassigned to lower-paid or part‑time tasks for safety, your employer can claim back from CNESST part of the wage difference. This does not reduce your rights; it spreads costs across all employers.

• Canadian Forces reservists

  • You can take part in an overseas operation (including prep, training, travel, and rest) with only 3 months of continuous service with your employer.
  • Leave reasons are broader (skills development; treatment or rehab for service-related health issues).
  • You can take up to 24 months of leave over a 60‑month period. The government may set longer periods for treatment or rehab. National crises are handled separately.

• Employers

  • Must handle the new unpaid leave linked to public health and disasters and keep proper records; fines for record failures and obstruction are much higher, with double and triple amounts for repeat offences.
  • In grievances, you face tighter timelines, mandatory consideration of mediation, pre‑hearing conferences on request, and earlier evidence disclosure.
  • You may recover part of wages paid when reassigning a pregnant or breastfeeding employee who earns less during the reassignment, if conditions are met. CNESST can recover overpayments.
  • In health and education workplaces, temporary special rules set the minimum quarterly time for health and safety representatives (varies by staff count), define some committee functions, and require short training.
  • Breaking National Holiday rules or labour standards now carries higher fines.

• Unions and unionized employees

  • If no arbitrator is named within 6 months of filing a grievance, the filing party must ask the minister to appoint one within 10 days or the grievance is presumed withdrawn (extensions allowed for reasonable cause).
  • Mediation talks are confidential; mediators generally can’t testify. Fines are higher for obstructing investigations.

• Social assistance recipients

  • One medical or psychosocial evaluation is enough to show health constraints. There are detailed transition rules in 2026 for how allocations change when the new programs take effect.

• Building owners/operators (specific sites)

  • CNESST can set construction and safety standards for certain buildings that were exempt (prisons, metro stations, farms, industrial sites). It can approve equivalent or different safety measures when justified.

• Privacy and tribunals

  • At the Administrative Labour Tribunal, access to files with health or other sensitive information in the health and safety division is restricted to authorized persons, who must keep documents confidential and destroy copies when no longer needed.

• Timing

  • Most changes start Oct. 28, 2025.
  • Some grievance rules begin Oct. 28, 2026.
  • Some social assistance updates take effect Jan. 1, 2026 or Apr. 1, 2026.
  • Workers’ compensation income updates start Jan. 1, 2027.
  • Some measures start once regulations are adopted or new CNESST board members are appointed.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• Faster, simpler grievance handling (deadlines, mediation) will cut backlogs and legal costs for everyone.
• Injured workers are better protected with yearly income updates and a “higher-of” rule for recurrences; stronger privacy fines protect victims of violence.
• New unpaid leave for public health decisions or disasters makes workplaces safer and reduces pressure on sick or quarantined workers.
• Letting employers recover part of wages for reassigned pregnant workers encourages safe reassignments instead of work stoppages.
• Higher fines deter bad actors and improve compliance with labour standards and safety.
• Removing citizenship requirements makes unions and professional associations more inclusive.
• Tailored safety standards for special buildings improve protection where risks are unique.

Opponents' View#

• Strict timelines and “deemed withdrawn” grievances could unfairly penalize workers or unions that miss deadlines; a one‑year cap to start hearings may be hard in complex cases.
• Large fine increases, plus multipliers for repeat offences, may hit small employers and unions hard and raise compliance costs.
• The new public health/disaster leave is unpaid, so workers may still face income loss; proof requirements could lead to disputes.
• CNESST repayments to employers for pregnancy reassignments are funded by all employers, which could mean higher premiums; repayment rules may cause new disputes.
• Temporary special rules in health and education could be seen as watering down prevention roles or creating confusion with separate time limits and functions.
• Tighter access to tribunal files may reduce transparency for parties and the public.