LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Salary & Wages

Jul 1: The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador increased the hourly wage of self-managed care workers by $2.00 per hour. With the 12% increase, the self-managed care rate is now $19.05 per hour. Self-managed care is an important service delivery option within the Home Support Program, allowing clients and families to hire, coordinate, and manage their own home support workers.

New Laws

Jul 10: The federal and provincial governments announced a joint investment of over $32.3 million to support 17 essential municipal water and wastewater project water infrastructure upgrades.  The money will be used to replace watermains, upgrade lift stations, and expand water and sewage capacity in communities across central and eastern Newfoundland.

Training

Jul 7: The new Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Workforce Tariff Response program will invest $10.6 million to support workers and employers in directly and indirectly tariff-affected industries over the next three years. The provincial government will distribute the money to unemployed workers seeking new skills for in-demand jobs and workers whose employers are participating in EI Work-Sharing Agreements for upskilling or retraining.

Action Point: Find out about the 8 ways the U.S. tariffs affect Canadian workplaces and HR activities.

New Laws

Jul 10: The combined market value of the province’s wild fishery and aquaculture industries reached $2.11 billion last year, according to the new Seafood Industry Year in Review 2025 report. The market value of the wild fisheries industry was $1.66 billion, and that of the aquaculture industry was $453 million. These industries employ approximately 17,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Workplace Safety

Jul 8: WorkplaceNL reported that in 2025 the province’s lost-time injury remained at an all-time low of 1.2 per 100 workers. That’s a long-term decrease of 20% since 2022 when the rate was 1.5. The number of new injury claims also reached a record low, with just over 3,800. About 93% of employers reported no injuries during the year while fatalities fell from 26 to 17. At year end, the Injury Fund remained fully funded at 139.5% (up from 131.6% funded in 2024).

Privacy

Jul 15: Newfoundland began its required five-year review of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015. The deadline to comment is October 9, 2026. The review Committee is required to submit its final report by January 31, 2027.

Workplace Violence

Jul 16: The federal Women and Gender Equality Canada program announced that it will provide $700,000 over the next five years to support crisis hotline services for individuals experiencing gender-based violence in the province. In Newfoundland and Labrador, crisis hotline services are operated by End Sexual Violence NL and the Transition House Association of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Action Point: Domestic and gender-based violence becomes an OHS issue and liability risk for employers when it happens at the victim’s workplace. Find out how to protect your employees from the risk of workplace domestic violence.

Workers’ Compensation

Jun 2: Royal Assent for Bill 10 requiring that Temporary Earnings Loss (TEL) benefits beyond 24 months be included when calculating a worker’s retirement benefit. Under previous workers’ compensation rules, only Extended Earnings Loss benefits were counted. The change applies retroactively to January 1, 2019. While the amount a worker receives depends on their TEL benefits, on average, that increase will be about $5,800 per worker.

CASES

There are no cases to report on for this jurisdiction this month.