The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
Certified correct as passed Third Reading on the 17th day of April, 2018
Craig James, Clerk of the House
HONOURABLE CAROLE JAMES
MINISTER OF FINANCE AND DEPUTY PREMIER
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
1 Section 1 of the Public Service Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 385, is amended by adding the following definitions:
"dismissal file" means the records of a ministry or a board, commission, agency or organization of the government to which this Act applies that are relevant in relation to a reviewable dismissal;
"eligible dismissal" means a reviewable dismissal that is eligible for review under section 5.12 (1);
"reviewable dismissal" means a dismissal that
(a) takes place on or after April 1, 2018, and
(b) is, or was initially, a dismissal under section 22 (2).
2 The following sections are added:
5.11 The merit commissioner is responsible for monitoring the application of government practices, policies and standards to eligible dismissals by the following by conducting reviews of eligible dismissals in accordance with sections 5.12 to 5.14:
(a) the agency;
(b) ministries;
(c) boards, commissions, agencies and organizations of the government to which this Act applies.
5.12 (1) A reviewable dismissal becomes eligible for review as follows:
(a) if no grievance procedure under a collective agreement or proceeding before a court or a judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal in relation to the reviewable dismissal has been commenced, 12 months after the date of the dismissal;
(b) if a grievance procedure under a collective agreement or a proceeding before a court or a judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal in relation to the reviewable dismissal has been commenced, 6 months after the date on which the grievance procedure or the proceeding and all related proceedings are complete.
(2) The agency head must notify the merit commissioner as soon as practicable after the agency head becomes aware that a dismissal about which information was provided to the merit commissioner under section 5.13 (1) is the subject of a grievance procedure under a collective agreement or a proceeding before a court or a judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal.
(3) If the merit commissioner
(a) receives a notification under subsection (2) and is conducting a review of the dismissal that is referred to in the notification, or
(b) otherwise becomes aware that he or she is conducting a review of a dismissal that is the subject of a grievance procedure under a collective agreement or a proceeding before a court or a judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal,
the merit commissioner must defer the review until the date that is 6 months after the date on which the grievance procedure or the proceeding and all related proceedings are complete.
5.13 (1) The agency head must, at least once every 6 months, provide the merit commissioner with information about reviewable dismissals and eligible dismissals, including, without limitation,
(a) the name of the employee who was dismissed,
(b) the position or title of the employee who was dismissed,
(c) the name of the ministry, board, commission, agency or organization that employed the employee who was dismissed,
(d) the date of the dismissal, and
(e) any other prescribed information.
(2) The agency head must provide the merit commissioner with the dismissal file for a reviewable dismissal as soon as practicable after the dismissal becomes eligible for review under section 5.12 (1).
5.14 (1) The merit commissioner may review only dismissals eligible for review under section 5.12 (1).
(2) The merit commissioner may determine which eligible dismissals to review.
(3) For the purposes of a review, the merit commissioner may review the dismissal file and any other information the merit commissioner considers relevant.
(4) When conducting a review of an eligible dismissal, the merit commissioner must not make a determination whether the dismissal met the legal standard for a just cause dismissal.
3 Section 5.2 (4) is repealed and the following substituted:
(4) The report of the merit commissioner under this section,
(a) in relation to monitoring the application of the merit principle, must not disclose
(i) personal information, as defined in Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, relating to individuals who applied for or were appointed to positions in the public service, or
(ii) the identity of persons who participated on behalf of the ministries, boards, commissions, agencies or organizations, as the case may be, in the selection of the individuals appointed to positions in the public service, and
(b) in relation to monitoring the application of government practices, policies and standards respecting eligible dismissals,
(i) may include
(A) references to particular instances of non-compliance with government practices, policies and standards,
(B) identification of persistent patterns of non-compliance with government practices, policies and standards, and
(C) recommendations in relation to dismissals, including recommendations for changes to government practices, policies and standards and how to eliminate patterns of non-compliance with government practices, policies and standards, and
(ii) must not disclose
(A) personal information, as defined in Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, in relation to a particular instance or a persistent pattern of non-compliance with government practices, policies and standards respecting eligible dismissals, or
(B) the identity of a ministry, board, commission, agency or organization in relation to a particular instance or a persistent pattern of non-compliance with government practices, policies and standards respecting eligible dismissals.
4 Section 7 (b) is repealed and the following substituted:
(b) boards, commissions, agencies and organizations of the government to which this Act applies, and .
5 Section 20.02 is repealed.
6 The following sections are added:
22.1 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no legal proceeding for damages lies or may be commenced or maintained against the merit commissioner, or a person acting on behalf of or under the direction of the merit commissioner, because of anything done or omitted
(a) in the performance or intended performance of any duty under sections 5.11, 5.12, 5.14 and 19, or
(b) in the exercise or intended exercise of any power under sections 5.11, 5.12, 5.14 and 19 to 20.1.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person referred to in that subsection in relation to anything done or omitted by that person in bad faith.
22.2 The following are inadmissible in evidence in any grievance procedure under a collective agreement or proceeding before a court or a judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal in relation to a dismissal that is, or was initially, a dismissal under section 22 (2):
(a) an annual report under section 5.2;
(b) any findings or records of the merit commissioner, or a person acting on behalf of or under the direction of the merit commissioner, respecting reviews of eligible dismissals or the preparation of an annual report under section 5.2.
22.3 The merit commissioner, and a person acting on behalf of or under the direction of the merit commissioner, must not be compelled to give evidence in a grievance procedure under a collective agreement or proceeding before a court or a judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal in relation to a dismissal that is, or was initially, a dismissal under section 22 (2).
7 Section 25 is amended by adding the following subsection:
(0.1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations respecting any matter for which regulations are contemplated by this Act.
8 The following section is added:
25.1 A special committee of the Legislative Assembly must,
(a) within 5 years after the date this section comes into force, begin a review of this Act in relation to dismissal process reviews by the merit commissioner, and
(b) within one year after the date of the appointment of the special committee, submit a report to the Legislative Assembly respecting this Act in relation to dismissal process reviews by the merit commissioner.
9 This Act comes into force on the date of Royal Assent.