Month in Review – Manitoba

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Month in Review – Manitoba

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LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Minimum Wage

Apr 1: Manitoba announced that it will increase its general minimum wage by 40 cents to $16.40 per hour on October 1. The annual increase is based on the province’s 2025 inflation rate, rounded up to the nearest five cents.

Action Point: Find out how to avoid common payroll errors when adjusting to minimum wage increases.

Leaves of Absence

Mar 19: Bill 10, which amends The Employment Standards Code to provide employees who’ve been employed by the same employer for at least seven consecutive months up to 16 weeks of unpaid leave if a child is placed or arrives into their care through adoption or surrogacy, has been reported out of Committee. Employees must provide employers with written notice at least four weeks before the day the leave is to begin, unless circumstances necessitate a shorter period of notice. Employers may require employees to provide, as soon as practicable “reasonable” evidence of entitlement to leave.

Action Point: Find out how to implement a legally sound Parental Leave Compliance Game Plan at your workplace.

New Laws

Apr 10: The province announced that it plans to invest an additional $2.5 million in the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund (MMDF) to generate sustainable economic growth in the mining industry. Since its establishment in July 2020, the MMDF has approved 131 projects and invested more than $22.5 million, resulting in the creation of 728 short-term jobs, 500 long-term jobs, and 274 partnerships.

Privacy

Mar 19: Bill 2 expanding privacy protections under existing legislation banning the sharing of intimate images without consent has been reported out of Committee. Highlights: i. expanded definition of intimate image to include ‘nearly nude’; ii. new ban on threatening to distribute an intimate image; iii. ban on taking or sharing nude or nearly-nude images of a person after their death; and iv. potential liability for websites that fail to act reasonably to remove nude or nearly-nude images.

Action Point: Digital privacy and nonconsensual publication of intimate images is also a potential liability risk for employers. Find out how to protect your organization from revenge porn and cyberbullying liability.

Health & Safety

Mar 20: Amendments to WSH Regulations require employers and prime contractors at certain construction project sites to ensure that hot water for handwashing is provided, effective April 1, 2027. The rules apply to industrial, commercial, or institutional buildings greater than 600 square metres or three-storeys-high, where more than 25 workers are on site at any one time.

Health & Safety

Mar 31: With measles cases on the rise, Manitoba gave the greenlight for pharmacists to administer the free publicly funded vaccine to children and young people of ages two to 19. Children should receive their first dose of measles vaccine at one year and second dose at between four and six years of age for routine immunizations.

Children living in regions impacted by the current outbreak may be eligible for an additional dose as young as six months.