Workers on maternity leave and the right to employment insurance: appeal request

They had not accumulated enough hours of work during the reference period, since they were on maternity leave. (Photo: The Canadian Press)

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The Employment Insurance Commission is seeking leave to appeal the tribunal’s decision in the case of workers on maternity leave, whose employment had been terminated, and who had been denied employment benefits. Employment Insurance.

In a decision handed down last January, the Social Security Tribunal agreed with these workers, ruling that certain provisions of the Employment Insurance Act violated the right to equality guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and freedoms.

The Social Security Tribunal then considered the case of workers on maternity leave, who had lost their jobs following job abolition or restructuring at their employer, and who had made a request to obtain regular employment insurance benefits.

They had been denied regular benefits because they had not accumulated enough hours of work during the qualifying period, since they were on maternity leave.

In its application for leave to appeal, the Canada Employment Insurance Commission alleges several errors of law in the decision that it wishes to challenge, in particular that of having ignored case law.

The Commission also submits that, as a lower court, the Social Security Tribunal had no jurisdiction to declare sections of the Employment Insurance Act unconstitutional and that its findings should have applied only to the matter which had been brought before it.

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