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Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a hassle-free source of info about key sections of the ESA. It is for your info and support just. It is not a legal document. If you need information or precise language, please describe the ESA itself and its regulations.

This guide needs to not be used as or thought about legal recommendations. You might have higher rights under a work contract, cumulative arrangement, the common law or other legislation. If you’re not sure about anything in this guide, please talk to an attorney.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

benefit strategies

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related kid disappearance leave

vital illness leave

stated emergency leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the work requirements poster: circulation requirements

equivalent spend for equal work

household caregiver leave

household medical leave

family obligation leave

suing

hours of work, eating durations and rest durations

contagious illness emergency situation leave

licensing – momentary assistance firms and recruiters

lie detector tests

minimum wage

non-compete arrangements

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of wages

pregnancy and adult leave

public vacations

reservist leave

severance of employment

authorized leave

short-term aid firms

termination of employment and short-lived layoffs

suggestions or gratuities

holiday.

composed policy on disconnecting from work.

written policy on electronic tracking of workers.

Reprisals are restricted

Employers are prohibited from penalizing employees in any way because the staff member worked out ESA rights.

Clients of short-lived assistance companies are prohibited from penalizing task employees in any method because the assignment worker worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are restricted from penalizing prospective employees who engage or utilize the employer’s services in any way for certain reasons, including asking the recruiter to comply with the Act or investigating about whether a person holds a licence as needed by the ESA.

Employers, clients of short-term aid companies and employers who commit a reprisal can be:

– purchased to compensate the worker, project employee or potential worker.

– bought to reinstate the employee or project worker (if the reprisal was devoted by a company or client of a short-lived help agency).

– ordered to pay a charge.

– prosecuted.

Find out more about reprisals.

Greater right or advantage

If an arrangement in an employment agreement or another Act provides a staff member a greater right or benefit than a minimum employment requirement under the ESA then that arrangement applies to the employee instead of the employment requirement.

No waiving of rights

No employee can accept waive or offer up their rights under the ESA (for employment instance, the right to receive overtime pay or public holiday pay). Any such agreement is null and space.

Enforcement and compliance

Violations of the ESA can lead to enforcement action.

The type of enforcement action that can be taken depends on which arrangement of the ESA was contravened. Examples consist of:

– an order to pay.

– a compliance order.

– a ticket.

– a notice of breach with a financial charge.

– an order to renew and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA consists of only some of the rules impacting work in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs problems such as workplace health and wellness, human rights and labour relations.

Related Ontario laws consist of the:

Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Labour Relations Act, 1995.

Pay Equity Act.

Human Rights Code.

To find out more about other Ontario laws, contact ServiceOntario:

– Tel: 416-326-1234 (in Toronto).

– Toll-free: 1-800-267-8097 (in the rest of Ontario).

– online at ServiceOntario.ca.

Federal laws impacting offices include statutes on earnings tax, employment insurance coverage and the Canada Pension.

For more information about federal laws, call the Government of Canada info line at 1-800-622-6232.

Who is not covered by the ESA?

Most employees and employment employers in Ontario are covered by the ESA. However, the ESA does not use to some individuals and individuals or companies they work for, employment such as:

– staff members and employers in sectors that fall under federal employment law jurisdiction, such as airline companies, banks, the federal civil service, post offices, radio and tv stations and inter-provincial trains.

– people working under a program authorized by a college of applied arts and innovation or university.

– individuals working under a program that is approved by a career college signed up under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005.

– secondary school students who work under a work experience program authorized by the school board that runs the school in which the trainee is enrolled.

– individuals who do neighborhood involvement under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.

– policeman (except for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do apply).

– prisoners participating in work or rehabilitation programs, or individuals who work as part of a sentence or order of a court.

– individuals who hold political, judicial, religious or elected trade union offices.

– major junior ice hockey players who satisfy specific conditions associated with scholarships.

– individuals who fulfill the definition of organization specialist or info innovation specialist under the ESA if certain conditions are satisfied.

For a complete listing of other individuals not governed by the ESA, please inspect the ESA and its guidelines.

Employee misclassification

Employers are restricted from misclassifying workers as independent contractors, interns, volunteers or any other type of worker not covered by the ESA.

Discover more about staff member misclassification.

Additional resources

In addition to this guide, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) has extra resources readily available to assist you:

– The Act Policy and Interpretation Manual is the main referral source for the policies of the Director of Employment Standards appreciating the interpretation, administration and enforcement of the ESA.

– Staff at the Employment Standards Information Centre are readily available to address your questions about the ESA. Information is available in many languages. You can reach the information centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.