Appeal Court Rules Denying EI After Maternity Leave Unconstitutional
The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled that provisions denying regular employment insurance (EI) benefits to women who lose their jobs during or shortly after maternity leave violate their Charter right to equality. The three-judge panel ruled in favour of six Quebec women who lost their jobs and were denied all or most of the regular EI benefits that they would have received had they not obtained maternity and parental benefits, according to the court decision made on Sept. 3. The case challenged the constitutionality of numerous subsections of the EI Act for violating equality rights guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
TL;DR
- The Federal Court of Appeal ruled that denying regular EI benefits to women who lose jobs during or after maternity leave violates their Charter right to equality.
- Six Quebec women were the plaintiffs in the case, having lost their jobs and been denied most EI benefits.
- The challenge targeted subsections of the EI Act for violating equality rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.