Bill 57: An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act

This bill affects virtually every employer operating in the Northwest Territories, from small retailers and restaurants to construction companies, mining operations, and remote work sites. Day-to-day operations are touched in multiple ways: employers can no longer ask for medical certificates to approve sick leave or personal/family responsibility leave, must provide eight consecutive hours of rest between shifts when combined hours exceed 13, and must give written reasons when terminating someone for cause. Businesses with remote work sites face a new obligation to pay for transportation to the nearest regional centre when they let someone go on site. Employers who break the rules risk being named on a public registry and hit with administrative fines up to $100,000 for corporations — making compliance more consequential than before, regardless of business size.