New legal protections for interns

A new law designed to protect your rights as an intern comes into effect in Quebec on August 24, 2022.

Act to ensure the protection of trainees in the workplace

Note: The present document has been prepared by the University and is an internal translation of the document drafted by the Commission des normes de l'équité de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) on Loi visant à assurer la protection des stagiaires en milieu de travail 

The Act to ensure the protection of trainees in the workplace (hereinafter the Act) will come into force on August 24, 2022. It is intended to provide better protection for trainees who participate in a work placement internship, whether:

• To obtain a permit to practice issued by a professional order;
• As part of a program of studies or training program at the secondary, vocational, college, or university level offered by an educational institution and leading to a diploma, certificate or attestation of studies.

It gives them rights equivalent to those provided in the Act respecting labour standards (ALS) with respect to short-term leave and psychological or sexual harassment.

Currently, unpaid trainees are not covered by the ALS. Some trainees, although paid, are only partially covered. As of August 24, 2022, the Act will grant all interns, without exception, regardless of compensation:

• the right to be absent for:
              - statutory holidays, 
              - illness or family or parental obligations, meaning obligations related to the care, health or education of a child or due to the health of a relative (a maximum of 10 days per year, per training), 
              - death or funeral, 
              - wedding or civil union, 
              - adoption or birth; 

• the right to a training environment free from psychological or sexual  harassment. Like all employers in Quebec, the educational institution and, as the case may be, the professional order will have the obligation to prevent harassment and to take reasonable steps to put a stop to it when a situation is brought to their attention;
• a protection from reprisals taken against them by an employer, educational  institution, professional order or any agent thereof because of the exercise of a    right under the Act.

The trainee’s employer and, as the case may be, the educational institution or professional order, shall also have an obligation to take reasonable measures at their disposal to:

• accommodate a trainee who must be absent from their training for a long period for:
      - a reason related to a non-work-related accident or illness, namely:                     - up to 26 weeks without pay in a 12-month period if they are ill or had        an accident that is not related to their work and means that they are unable to      work; 
•          - family or parental obligations, for example:
               - up to 16 weeks over a 12-month period when they have to stay with a                relative because of a serious accident or a serious illness;
                - up to 27 weeks over a 12-month period if the person who is seriously                ill has a life-threatening illness;
                - up to 36 weeks over a 12-month period if the person who is seriously                 ill or had an accident is a minor child;
                - up to 5 consecutive weeks for paternity leave on the occasion of                 the birth of a child;
                - up to 18 consecutive weeks for maternity leave;
                - up to 65 consecutive weeks for parental leave for the birth of a child;

      - ensure that the success of the trainee’s studies or training or the                        trainee’s obtention of a permit required for the practice of a profession                        is not compromised because of the exercise of a right provided for by                        the Act.

The trainee who experiences psychological or sexual harassment* in their training environment will be able to file a complaint on the matter with the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail.

The trainee who, as a result of exercising a right under the Act, is the victim of reprisals or discriminatory measures by their employer or, as the case may be, their educational institution or professional order, will be able to file a complaint concerning a prohibited practice.

A complaint may also be filed on behalf of a trainee, who consents, by a non-profit organization dedicated to the defence of students’ rights, a students’ association or a students’ association alliance.

When appropriate, remedial measures adapted to the trainees particular situations may be imposed by the Tribunal administratif du travail.

* Trainees studying in higher education institution may also refer to their institution’s policy, prescribed by the Act to prevent and fight sexual violence in higher education institutions, notably to receive support, report an incident or file a complaint.