Right of refusal to work on a Sunday
“retail business” means a retail business as defined in the Days of Rest Act.(commerce au détail)
17.1(2)Subject to subsections (3) and (4), an employee may refuse to work on a Sunday, whether or not the Sunday is also a prescribed day of rest, if the work is in a retail business or part of a retail business that is exempted from the application of the
Days of Rest Act
(i)
a by-law made under the
Local Governance Act, or
(ii)
a permit issued under section 174 of the
Local Governance Act,
(b)
solely under subsection 7.1(1) of that Act, or
(c)
under exemptions referred to in both paragraphs (
a) and (
b) but under no other provision of the
Days of Rest Act.
17.1(3)An employee may, under subsection (2), refuse to work only on a Sunday on which the exemption or exemptions referred to in that subsection apply.
17.1(4)An employee who is permitted to refuse to work on a Sunday under subsection (2) shall give the employer verbal or written notice of refusal at least fourteen days before any Sunday on which the employee refuses to work.
17.1(4.1)An employee may, at one time, give at least fourteen days notice under subsection (4) in relation to one Sunday, more than one Sunday, all Sundays or any combination of Sundays.
17.1(5)Notwithstanding anything in this Act, no employer or person acting on behalf of an employer shall dismiss, suspend, lay off, penalize, discipline or discriminate against an employee because
(a)
the employee has refused or attempted to refuse to work on a Sunday, if the employee was permitted to do so under subsection (2), or
(b)
the employee seeks to enforce the employee’s rights under this section.
1997, c.29, s.1; 2004, c.24, s.2; 2017, c.20, s.63; 2019, c.12, s.10