The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
Certified correct as passed Third Reading on the 7th day of March, 2024
Kate Ryan-Lloyd, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly
HONOURABLE HARRY BAINS
MINISTER OF LABOUR
HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
1 Section 3 (6) of the Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 113, is amended by adding the following after "section 16 [employers required to pay minimum wage];":
section 16.1 [minimum wage];
section 16.2 [annual adjustment of minimum wage]; .
2 Section 16 (1) is amended by striking out "prescribed in the regulations" and substituting "set out in sections 16.1 and 16.2".
3 The following sections are added:
16.1 (1) Subject to subsection (2) and section 16.2, the minimum wage is $16.75 per hour.
(2) Subject to section 16.2, the minimum wage for a prescribed class of employees is the amount specified in, or calculated in accordance with, the regulations.
16.2 (1) In this section, "consumer price index" means the annual average All-items Consumer Price Index for British Columbia, as published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act (Canada).
(2) Subject to this section, every year on June 1, beginning on June 1, 2024,
(a) the minimum wage referred to in section 16.1 (1) is adjusted in accordance with the formula set out in subsection (4) of this section, and
(b) the adjusted minimum wage is rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05 or, if the adjusted minimum wage is equidistant from 2 consecutive multiples, to the higher multiple.
(3) Subject to this section and the regulations, every year on June 1, beginning on June 1, 2024,
(a) a minimum wage referred to in section 16.1 (2) is adjusted in accordance with the formula set out in subsection (4) of this section, and
(b) the adjusted minimum wage is rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.01 or, if the adjusted minimum wage is equidistant from 2 consecutive multiples, to the higher multiple.
(4) The following formula applies for the purposes of subsections (2) (a) and (3) (a):
| adjusted minimum wage = previous minimum wage × | Index A Index B |
where
| adjusted minimum wage | is, subject to subsection (2) (b) or (3) (b), the new minimum wage; | |
| previous minimum wage | is the minimum wage that applied immediately before the adjustment under this section; | |
| Index A | is the consumer price index for the immediately preceding calendar year; | |
| Index B | is the consumer price index for the calendar year immediately preceding the calendar year referred to in the description of Index A. |
(5) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to a minimum wage referred to in section 16.1 (1) or (2), as the case may be, in relation to a calendar year if the adjustment to the minimum wage under this section in that calendar year would result in a decrease in the minimum wage.
(6) The minister must publish the minimum wages referred to in section 16.1, as adjusted under this section, on a publicly accessible website.
4 Section 127 (2) (g) is repealed and the following substituted:
(g) for the purposes of section 16.1 (2), prescribing classes of employees and specifying the minimum wage, or a method for calculating the minimum wage, for a prescribed class of employees;
(g.1) in relation to the adjustment under section 16.2 of a minimum wage referred to in section 16.1 (2),
(i) respecting the date each year, beginning on a specified date, the minimum wage is adjusted under section 16.2 (3), and
(ii) respecting the rounding of the adjusted minimum wage under section 16.2 (3) (b); .
5 This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.