Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and
House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:
Short title
1. This
Act may be cited as the Salary Restraint
and Extinguishment of Severance Pay Act.
Definitions
2. In
this Act
(a) "base salary" means the amount of
remuneration paid in a year to a non-represented public sector employee or statutory
officer for the performance of employment duties but does not include overtime
pay, bonuses and shift premiums;
(b) "clerk" means the Clerk of the House
of Assembly;
(c) "compensation" means any consideration or remuneration, regardless
of its nature or form, including base salary, retainers, benefits, bonuses,
allowances, honorariums, travelling and living expenses paid, payable or
provided, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of a person who
performs duties and functions that entitle the person to be paid;
(d) "compensation plan" means
provisions, however established, for the determination and administration of
compensation, and includes provisions established bilaterally between a public
sector employer and a statutory officer or a non-represented public sector employee,
unilaterally by the public sector employer or by or under any Act;
(e) "employee of a public sector
employer" means
(i) an employee of the executive branch,
(ii) an employee of the legislative branch, and
(iii) an employee of a public body; and
(f) "executive branch" means a
department created under the Executive
Council Act or a branch of the executive government of the province;
(g) "government" means
(i) the executive branch, and
(ii) the legislative branch;
(h) "House of Assembly Management
Commission" means the commission continued under section 18 of the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity
and Administration Act;
(i) "House of Assembly service" means
House of Assembly service referred to in section 25 of the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act;
(j) "legislative branch" means the House
of Assembly and statutory offices;
(k) "non-represented public sector employee"
means an employee of a public sector employer who is not a represented public
sector employee on May 31, 2018 or at any time during the salary restraint period;
(l) "public body" means an entity listed
in the Schedule;
(m) "public sector employer" means
(i) government, and
(ii) a public body;
(n) "public sector employer severance pay policy"
means a policy established by a public sector employer that authorizes the
payment of an amount, other than payment in lieu of notice, to be paid to a
non-represented public sector employee on the date the non-represented public
sector employee resigns, retires or is terminated from his or her employment;
(o) "qualifying employee" means a
non-represented public sector employee or statutory officer who has, as of May
31, 2018, one or more complete years of continuous service with a public sector
employer that has adopted a severance pay policy as part of its compensation
plan before the coming into force of this Act;
(p) "represented public sector employee"
means a person employed with a public sector employer in a position represented by a bargaining agent certified or
recognized under an Act of the province;
(q) "salary restraint period" means the
period beginning on June 1, 2018 and ending on March 31, 2020;
(r) "severance pay" means an amount payable
to a qualifying employee and calculated in accordance with section 8;
(s) "severance pay policy" means
(i) the Treasury Board Severance Pay Policy, or
(ii) a public sector employer severance pay policy;
(t) "speaker" means the Speaker of the
House of Assembly;
(u) "statutory office" means a statutory
office as defined in paragraph 2(r) of the House
of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act;
(v) "statutory officer" means
(i) the Information and Privacy Commissioner,
(ii) the Auditor General,
(iii) the Child and Youth Advocate,
(iv) the Chief Electoral Officer,
(v) the Citizens' Representative,
(vi) the Commissioner for Legislative Standards,
and
(vii) the Seniors' Advocate;
(w) "step progression" means an increase
in base salary determined in accordance with a pay scale and based on the anniversary
of the date a non-represented public sector employee or statutory officer
commenced employment with the public sector employer;
(x) "Treasury Board Severance Pay Policy"
means a policy established by Treasury Board that authorizes the payment of an
amount, other than payment in lieu of notice, to be paid to a non-represented public
sector employee or statutory officer on the date the non-represented public
sector employee or statutory officer resigns, retires or is terminated from his
or her employment; and
(y) "year" means a calendar year.
Application of
Act
3. (1)
This Act applies to
(a) public sector employers;
(b) non-represented public sector employees; and
(c) statutory officers.
(2) This Act does not apply to
(a) represented public sector employees;
(b) a judge appointed under the Provincial Court Act, 1991;
(c) a Member of the House of Assembly; and
(d) political support staff whose base salary is determined
in accordance with the classification chart for political support staff, except
as provided in section 14.
Crown bound
4. This
Act binds the Crown.
PART I
SALARY RESTRAINT MEASURES
No increase in pay
scales
5. Notwithstanding the terms and conditions of
employment or a compensation plan, a public sector employer shall not increase
the base salary amounts in its pay scales for non-represented public sector employees
and statutory officers during the salary restraint period.
No change on
renewal
6. (1) A
public sector employer shall not increase the compensation payable to a
non-represented public sector employee or statutory officer who renews his or
her employment contract or is reappointed during the salary restraint period.
(2) Where a non-represented public sector employee
or statutory officer
(a) remains employed in the same position but
executes a new employment contract, the new contract is considered to be a
renewal for the purpose of this section; or
(b) remains in office but has a new appointment to
the same office, the new appointment is considered to be a reappointment for
the purpose of this section.
Step progressions
7. Nothing
in sections 5 and 6 affect a non-represented public sector employee's or
statutory officer's entitlement to any step progressions that form part of his
or her compensation plan.
PART II
SEVERANCE PAY
Severance pay
8. (1) Severance
pay shall be payable to a qualifying employee of a public sector employer that has
adopted the Treasury Board Severance Pay Policy and shall be calculated by
multiplying the qualifying employee's number of complete years of continuous service
by his or her weekly base salary as of May 31, 2018 to a maximum of 20 weeks
base salary.
(2) Severance pay shall be payable to a qualifying
employee of a public sector employer that has adopted a public sector employer
severance pay policy and shall be calculated in accordance with the public
sector employer severance pay policy.
Severance pay-qualifying
employees
9. (1) Severance
pay payable to a qualifying employee shall be fixed as of May 31, 2018 and the
qualifying employee shall not accrue any further entitlement to severance pay.
(2) Severance pay payable to a qualifying employee
shall be paid in a lump sum payment on the earlier of
(a) the date the qualifying employee resigns,
retires or is terminated from his or her employment; or
(b) March 31, 2019.
Request for severance
pay payment deferral
10. (1) Notwithstanding
subsection 9(2), severance pay payable to a qualifying employee under section 9
may be deferred where a qualifying employee submits a written request to the public
sector employer in the form determined by the public sector employer on or
before December 31, 2018.
(2) Where a qualifying employee defers payment of
his or her severance pay under subsection (1), the qualifying employee may request
payment of his or her severance pay at any time by submitting a written request
to the public sector employer in the form determined by the public sector
employer.
(3) A qualifying employee who submits a request
under subsection (2) shall be paid his or her severance pay not later than June
30 of the year following the year in which the request was submitted.
(4) Payment of severance pay deferred under subsection
(1) shall be paid to the qualifying employee no later than the date the qualifying
employee resigns, retires or is terminated from his or her employment.
(5) Where a qualifying employee defers payment of
his or her severance pay under subsection (1), interest shall not accrue on the
severance pay or be payable to the qualifying employee when he or she receives
his or her severance pay.
Payment to estate
11. (1) Where
a qualifying employee of a public sector employer that has adopted the Treasury
Board Severance Pay Policy dies before receiving his or her severance pay under
this Act, the qualifying employee's severance pay shall be paid to the
qualifying employee's estate.
(2) Where a qualifying employee of a public sector
employer that has adopted a public sector employer severance pay policy dies before
receiving his or her severance pay under this Act, the qualifying employee's
severance pay shall be paid
(a) in accordance with the public sector employer
severance pay policy; or
(b) to the qualifying employee's estate, where the
public sector employer severance pay policy does not have a provision for the
payment of severance pay on the death of a qualifying employee.
Non-qualifying
employees
12. A
non-represented public sector employee or a statutory officer who is not a qualifying employee on
May 31, 2018 shall not
(a) accrue entitlement to severance pay; or
(b) receive severance pay at any time.
Severance pay extinguished
13. (1) Upon the coming into force of this Act,
(a) all rights of non-represented public sector
employees and statutory officers to accrue severance pay are extinguished;
(b) all rights of non-represented public sector
employees and statutory officers to receive severance pay are extinguished except
in accordance with this Part; and
(c) the terms and conditions of employment or a
compensation plan shall not provide for the accrual, entitlement or payment of
severance pay to non-represented public sector employees and statutory
officers.
(2) Subsection (1) applies regardless of whether a
non-represented public sector employee or statutory officer was a qualifying employee
on May 31, 2018.
Rights unaffected
14. Where
before the coming into force of this Act,
(a) an individual is entitled to a payment under a
severance pay policy;
(b) that payment was deferred; and
(c) the individual has not received that payment,
his or her right to receive that payment
shall be unaffected by this Act and that payment shall be paid in accordance
with subsection 9(2), section 10 or section 11.
PART III
GENERAL
Powers and duties
of Treasury Board
15. (1) Treasury
Board may exercise the powers and shall perform the duties in relation to this
Act that are necessary to enable it to determine whether the executive branch,
a public body or a non-represented employee of the executive branch or a public
body is complying with this Act.
(2) Treasury Board may require the executive
branch, a public body or a non-represented employee of the executive branch or
a public body to provide information and documentation that Treasury Board considers
necessary to enable it to determine compliance with this Act.
(3) Where Treasury Board determines that the
executive branch or a public body is not complying with this Act, it may issue
a directive that it considers appropriate to ensure compliance, including a directive
(a) requiring compliance with this Act; or
(b) prohibiting the executive branch or a public
body from implementing an increase in base salary amounts in its pay scales that
do not comply with this Act.
Powers and duties
of House of Assembly Management Commission
16. (1) The
House of Assembly Management Commission may exercise the powers and shall
perform the duties in relation to this Act that are necessary to enable it to
determine whether the legislative branch, the House of Assembly service, a
statutory officer or an employee of a statutory office is complying with this
Act.
(2) The House of Assembly Management Commission may
require the legislative branch, the House of Assembly service, a statutory
officer or an employee of a statutory office to provide information and
documentation that the House of Assembly Management Commission considers
necessary to enable it to determine compliance with this Act.
(3) Where the House of Assembly Management Commission
determines that the legislative branch is not complying with this Act, it may
issue a directive that it considers appropriate to ensure compliance, including
a directive
(a) requiring compliance with this Act; or
(b) prohibiting the legislative branch from
implementing an increase in base salary amounts in its pay scales that do not
comply with this Act.
Conflict
17. (1) Where
this Act conflicts with another Act or regulation, except the Financial Administration Act, this Act prevails.
(2) This Act prevails over any term and condition
of employment or provision of a compensation plan, whether established before
or after the coming into force of this Act, and where there is a conflict between
this Act and those terms and conditions or compensation plan, those provisions
and that compensation plan are invalid to the extent of the conflict.
No future compensation
18. After
May 31, 2018 a compensation plan shall not include a severance pay policy, provide
for severance pay or an increase in compensation for a non-represented public
sector employee or statutory officer as an adjustment to provide for severance
pay or base salary increases that he or she did not or will not receive as a
result of the restraint measures in this Act.
No liability
19. (1) A public sector
employer, a minister, employee or agent of a public sector employer, a
statutory officer, the speaker or the clerk is not liable for a cause of action
arising from, resulting from or incidental to the operation of this Act or
resulting from or incidental to the extinguishment of a right to or eligibility
for an increase in base salary or an accrual or entitlement to severance pay which
may have existed or accrued before the coming into force of this Act.
(2) An action or proceeding does not lie or shall
not be instituted or continued against a public sector employer, a minister, employee
or agent of a public sector employer, a statutory officer, the speaker or the
clerk based on a cause of action arising from, resulting from or incidental to
the operation of this Act or resulting from or incidental to the extinguishment
of a right to or eligibility for an increase in base salary or an accrual or
entitlement to severance pay which may have existed or accrued before the
coming into force of this Act.
Schedule
20. (1) When
the House of Assembly is not in session, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council
may, by order, amend the Schedule, but the order shall not continue in force
beyond the end of the next sitting of the House of Assembly.
(2) An order made under this section is subordinate
legislation for the purpose of the
Statutes and Subordinate Legislation Act.
Schedule
Board of Commissioners of Public
Utilities
C.A. Pippy Park Commission
Central Regional Health Authority
College of the North
Atlantic
Conseil scolaire francophone
provincial de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador
Eastern Regional Health Authority
Human Rights Commission
Independent Appointments Commission
Labour Relations Board
Labrador-Grenfell Regional Health
Authority
Marble Mountain
Development Corporation
Mental Health Review
Board
Multi-Materials Stewardship Board
Municipal
Assessment Agency
Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health
Information
Newfoundland and Labrador
English School
District
Newfoundland and
Labrador Film Development Corporation
Newfoundland and
Labrador Housing Corporation
Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation
Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Care Plan
NL 911 Bureau Inc.
NL Innovation
Council
Provincial Advisory
Council on the Status of Women
Provincial Information and Library
Resources Board
Public Procurement Agency
Public Service Commission
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary
Student Loan
Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Rooms
Corporation
Western Regional Health Authority
Workplace Health, Safety and
Compensation Review Division
Workplace NL
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