Bill 31: Labour Standards Code (amended)

This bill directly affects employers in Nova Scotia across all industries — from restaurants, retail shops, and construction trades to home care providers and office-based businesses. Any business with employees on payroll will now be required to pay those employees their regular wages during sick leave absences, up to ten days a year, rather than treating those days as unpaid. Small operators and solo-employer businesses will feel this most acutely, since covering a day's wages for an absent worker — without offsetting savings — comes straight off the bottom line. Employers also cannot ask for a doctor's note to verify sick leave, which changes the way many businesses currently manage attendance and track absences.