Act respecting labour standards (excerpts)

Section 79.1

An employee may be absent from work for a period of not more than 26 weeks over a period of 12 months, owing to sickness, an organ or tissue donation for transplant, an accident, domestic violence or sexual violence of which the employee has been a victim.

However, an employee may be absent from work for a period of not more than 104 weeks if the employee suffers serious bodily injury during or resulting directly from a criminal offence that renders the employee unable to hold their regular position. In that case, the period of absence shall not begin before the date on which the criminal offence was committed, or before the expiry of the period provided for in the first paragraph, where applicable, and shall not end later than 104 weeks after the commission of the criminal offence.

However, this section does not apply in the case of an employment injury within the meaning of the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (chapter A-3.001).

Section 79.8

An employee may be absent from work for a period of not more than 16 weeks over a period of 12 months where the employee must stay with a relative or a person for whom the employee acts as a caregiver, as attested by a professional working in the health and social services sector and governed by the Professional Code (chapter C-26), because of a serious illness or a serious accident. Where the relative or person is a minor child, the period of absence is not more than 36 weeks over a period of 12 months.

However, if a minor child of the employee has a serious and potentially mortal illness, attested by a medical certificate, the employee is entitled to an extension of the absence, which shall end at the latest 104 weeks after the beginning thereof.

Section 79.8.1

An employee may be absent from work for a period of not more than 27 weeks over a period of 12 months where the employee must stay with a relative, other than the employee’s minor child, or a person for whom the employee acts as a caregiver, as attested by a professional working in the health and social services sector and governed by the Professional Code (chapter C-26), because of a serious and potentially mortal illness, attested by a medical certificate.

Section 79.9

An employee is entitled to an extension of the period of absence under the first paragraph of section 79.8, which shall end not later than 104 weeks after the beginning of that period, if the employee must stay with their minor child who suffered serious bodily injury during or resulting directly from a criminal offence that renders the child unable to carry on regular activities.

Section 79.10

An employee may be absent from work for a period of not more than 104 weeks if the employee’s minor child has disappeared. If the child is found before the expiry of the period of absence, that period shall end on the eleventh day that follows the day on which the child is found.

Section 79.10.1

An employee may be absent from work for a period of not more than 104 weeks by reason of the death of the employee’s minor child.

Section 79.11

An employee may be absent from work for a period of not more than 104 weeks if the employee’s spouse, child of full age, father, mother or one of the employee’s parents commits suicide.

Section 79.12

An employee may be absent from work for a period of not more than 104 weeks if the death of the employee’s spouse or child of full age occurs during or results directly from a criminal offence.

Section 79.13

Sections 79.9, 79.10, 79.11 and 79.12 apply if it may be inferred from the circumstances of the event that the serious bodily injury is probably the result of a criminal offence, the death is probably the result of such an offence or of a suicide, or the person who has disappeared is probably in danger.

However, an employee may not take advantage of these provisions if it may be inferred from the circumstances that the employee or, in the case of section 79.12, the deceased person was probably a party to the criminal offence or probably contributed to the injury by a gross fault.

Section 79.14

Sections 79.9 and 79.12 apply if the injury or death occurs in one of the situations described in section 79.1.2.

Section 79.15

A period of absence under sections 79.9 to 79.12 shall not begin before the date on which the criminal offence that caused the serious bodily injury was committed or before the date of the death or disappearance and shall not end later than 104 weeks after that date. However, during the period of absence, the employee may return to work intermittently or on a part-time basis if the employer consents to it.

If, during the same 104-week period, a new event occurs, affecting the same child and giving entitlement to a new period of absence, the maximum period of absence for those two events may not exceed 104 weeks from the date of the first event.

Section 81.18

For the purposes of this Act, “psychological harassment” means any vexatious behaviour in the form of repeated and hostile or unwanted conduct, verbal comments, actions or gestures, that affects an employee’s dignity or psychological or physical integrity and that results in a harmful work environment for the employee. For greater certainty, psychological harassment includes such behaviour in the form of such verbal comments, actions or gestures of a sexual nature.

A single serious incidence of such behaviour that has a lasting harmful effect on an employee may also constitute psychological harassment.

Section 81.19

Every employee has a right to a work environment free from psychological harassment. Employers must take reasonable action to prevent psychological harassment from any person and, whenever they become aware of such behaviour, to put a stop to it. They must, in particular, adopt and make available to their employees a psychological harassment prevention and complaint processing policy that includes, in particular, a section on behaviour that manifests itself in the form of verbal comments, actions or gestures of a sexual nature.

Section 97.1

To ensure the protection of every person in the work environment, no provision in an agreement or decree may operate to prevent an employer, where the employer imposes a disciplinary measure on an employee for misconduct relating to physical or psychological violence, including sexual violence within the meaning of section 1 of the Act respecting occupational health and safety (chapter S-2.1), from taking into account a disciplinary measure that was previously imposed on the employee for misconduct relating to one of those forms of violence.

Section 123.7

Any complaint concerning psychological harassment must be filed within two years of the last incidence of the offending behaviour.

Section 123.15

If the Administrative Labour Tribunal considers that the employee has been the victim of psychological harassment and that the employer has failed to fulfil the obligations imposed on employers under section 81.19, it may render any decision it believes fair and reasonable, taking into account all the circumstances of the matter, including the discriminatory nature of the behaviour, such as

(1) ordering the employer to reinstate the employee;
(2) ordering the employer to pay the employee an indemnity up to a maximum equivalent to wages lost;
(3) ordering the employer to take reasonable action to put a stop to the harassment;
(4) ordering the employer to pay moral damages to the employee;
(4.1) ordering the employer to pay punitive damages to the employee;
(5) ordering the employer to pay the employee an indemnity for loss of employment;
(6) ordering the employer to pay for the psychological support needed by the employee for a reasonable period of time determined by the Tribunal;
(7) ordering the modification of the disciplinary record of the employee.

Section 123.16

Paragraphs 2, 4 and 6 of section 123.15 do not apply to a period during which the employee is suffering from an employment injury within the meaning of the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (chapter A‐3.001) that results from psychological harassment.

Where the Administrative Labour Tribunal considers it probable that, pursuant to section 123.15, the psychological harassment entailed an employment injury for the employee, it shall reserve its decision with regard to paragraphs 2, 4 and 6.