As of June 1, employers in Quebec became responsible for ensuring that all written communications to employees are in French. The new law delineates the circumstances when English is a permitted option.
Bill 96, amending the Charter of the French Language to make French the predominant language in workplaces throughout Quebec, contains wide-ranging provisions requiring the use of French in the workplace, business and commerce, the justice system, and civil administration. Most new provisions applying to the workplace became effective June 1; other provisions will be phased in over three years.
Not all of the requirements are completely new, noted Tania Da Silva, an attorney in DLA Piper's Montreal office; some have simply been tightened to prevent employers from continuing to use loopholes to first provide the documents in English.
For example, the Charter already required employers to provide employment agreements to their Quebec employees in French, unless the parties agreed to contract in another language. However, "many employers would simply use their English employment contract that contained the 'language clause' until an employee requested to have a French version, in which case they would translate it," Da Silva said. "Bill 96 says that the French must be provided first in all cases, and then the version in another language—usually English—can only be provided if after having reviewed the French version, the employee asks for it in the other language."
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