Safe working conditions for a safe maternity experience

Safe working conditions for a safe maternity experience

The right to a safe maternity experience A pregnant or breastfeeding worker may be entitled to special protection. If she is working in conditions that are a hazard to her health or that of her unborn or breast-feeding child, she is entitled to be assigned immediately to other tasks that are safe and that she is reasonably capable of performing. However, to be entitled to ask her employer for a reassignment, she must be medically fit to work. If her workstation is not subsequently modified or if she is not reassigned to another job, she is entitled to stop working temporarily and to be paid indemnities by the CSST.

Medical certificate To exercise her right to a safe maternity experience, the worker must see a physician and describe her working conditions and her concerns regarding her pregnancy. If the physician considers the worker to be at risk, he or she must complete the Preventive Withdrawal and Reassignment Certificate for a Pregnant or Breastfeeding Worker. For the certificate to be valid, the physician who completes the certificate must consult the physician in charge of health services for the establishment in which the worker is employed or, if there is no such person, the physician designated by the director of public health for the region in which the establishment is located. The worker is not required to pay anything for the certificate. Reassignment The worker must give the certificate to her employer, which constitutes a request for modification of her workstation or reassignment to other duties. While she is reassigned, the worker is entitled to the same wages and benefits as before. If the wages attached to the new position are different from those paid in her usual job, the employer may request reimbursement from the CSST. The form for that purpose, entitled Soutien financier à l employeur lors de l affectation d une travailleuse enceinte ou qui allaite [available in French only], is available from the CSST s website at www.csst.qc.ca.

Preventive withdrawal and indemnities If the employer cannot eliminate the hazards at source, or modify the worker s workstation or some of her tasks or immediately reassign her to other tasks that she could reasonably perform, the worker may stop working and will be paid indemnities. For the first five working days of her work stoppage, the employer must pay the worker her usual wages. For the next 14 full days, the employer must pay her 90% of her net wages for the days that she would normally have worked. The CSST will reimburse the employer that sum. Then, the CSST will pay 90% of the net income retained directly to the worker, up to the date of the reassignment or up to the fourth week prior to the worker s expected delivery date or until such time as she stops breast-feeding. The indemnities paid may not exceed the maximum yearly insurable earnings ($66,000 in 2012). The CSST may stop paying indemnities for a specific period (closing of the enterprise, lay-off, etc.) during which the work-related risks no longer exist. All decisions concerning entitlement to preventive withdrawals may be contested in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions.

To be noted Before requesting a reassignment, the worker must see a physician and ask him or her to complete the Preventive Withdrawal and Reassignment Certificate for a Pregnant or Breast-feeding Worker. The reassignment may consist of a modification of her workstation or of some of her tasks, or of assignment to new tasks. For the certificate to be valid, the physician who completes the certificate must consult the physician in charge of health services for the establishment in which she works or, failing that, the physician designated by the director of public health for the region in which the establishment is located. Once the certificate has been completed, the worker must give it to her employer. A worker who has exercised her right to reassignment or preventive withdrawal because she was pregnant, and who now wishes to exercise that right because she is breast-feeding, must submit a new request. While exercising her right to reassignment or preventive withdrawal, the worker retains all benefits related to the position she held before her reassignment or preventive withdrawal. In addition, the employer must reinstate her in her usual job when she returns to work. To be reimbursed the wages paid for the 14 full days following the first five working days of the work stoppage, the employer must complete the form entitled Demande de remboursement pour un retrait préventif de la travailleuse enceinte ou qui allaite [available in French only]. At any time, the employer may offer the worker a reassignment, which she must accept unless the new tasks pose a danger or she is unable to perform them.

Just one number for the CSST: 1 866 302-CSST (2778) abitibitémiscamingue 33, rue Gamble O. Rouyn-Noranda (Québec) j9x 2r3 Fax: 819 762-9325 2 e étage 1185, rue Germain Val-d Or (Québec) j9p 6b1 Fax: 819 874-2522 bas-saint-laurent 180, rue des Gouverneurs Case postale 2180 Rimouski (Québec) g5l 7p3 Fax: 418 725-6237 capitale-nationale 425, rue du Pont Case postale 4900 Succ. Terminus Québec (Québec) g1k 7s6 Fax: 418 266-4015 chaudièreappalaches 835, rue de la Concorde Saint-Romuald (Québec) g6w 7p7 Fax: 418 839-2498 côte-nord Bureau 236 700, boul. Laure Sept-Îles (Québec) g4r 1y1 Fax: 418 964-3959 235, boul. La Salle Baie-Comeau (Québec) g4z 2z4 Fax: 418 294-7325 estrie Place-Jacques-Cartier Bureau 204 1650, rue King O. Sherbrooke (Québec) j1j 2c3 Fax: 819 821-6116 gaspésie îlesde-la-madeleine 163, boulevard de Gaspé Gaspé (Québec) g4x 2v1 Fax : 418 368-7855 200, boul. Perron O. New Richmond (Québec) g0c 2b0 Fax: 418 392-5406 île-de-montréal 1, complexe Desjardins Tour Sud, 31 e étage Case postale 3 Succ. Place-Desjardins Montréal (Québec) h5b 1h1 Fax: 514 906-3200 lanaudière 432, rue de Lanaudière Case postale 550 Joliette (Québec) j6e 7n2 Fax: 450 756-6832 laurentides 6 e étage 85, rue de Martigny O. Saint-Jérôme (Québec) j7y 3r8 Fax: 450 432-1765 laval 1700, boul. Laval Laval (Québec) h7s 2g6 Fax: 450 668-1174 longueuil 25, boul. La Fayette Longueuil (Québec) j4k 5b7 Fax: 450 442-6373 mauricie et centre-du-québec Bureau 200 1055, boul. des Forges Trois-Rivières (Québec) g8z 4j9 Fax: 819 372-3286 outaouais 15, rue Gamelin Case postale 1454 Gatineau (Québec) j8x 3y3 Fax: 819 778-8699 saguenay lac-saint-jean Place-du-Fjord 901, boul. Talbot Case postale 5400 Chicoutimi (Québec) g7h 6p8 Fax: 418 545-3543 Complexe du Parc 6 e étage 1209, boul. du Sacré-Cœur Case postale 47 Saint-Félicien (Québec) g8k 2p8 Fax: 418 679-5931 saint-jeansur-richelieu 145, boul. Saint-Joseph Case postale 100 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Québec) j3b 6z1 Fax: 450 359-1307 valleyfield 9, rue Nicholson Salaberry-de-Valleyfield (Québec) j6t 4m4 Fax: 450 377-8228 yamaska 2710, rue Bachand Saint-Hyacinthe (Québec) j2s 8b6 Fax: 450 773-8126 Bureau 102 26, place Charles- De Montmagny Sorel-Tracy (Québec) j3p 7e3 Fax: 450 746-1036 DC100-1582-16A (2012-06)