Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a convenient source of details about key sections of the ESA. It is for your details and assistance just. It is not a legal file. If you require details or exact language, please describe the ESA itself and its policies.

This guide must not be used as or thought about legal suggestions. You might have higher rights under an employment agreement, collective arrangement, the typical law or other legislation. If you’re unsure about anything in this guide, please talk to an attorney.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These consist of:

advantage plans

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related kid disappearance leave

vital illness leave

declared emergency leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the work requirements poster: circulation requirements

equal spend for equivalent work

family caregiver leave

family medical leave

household responsibility leave

suing

hours of work, consuming periods and rest periods

infectious disease emergency situation leave

licensing – temporary assistance firms and recruiters

lie detector tests

minimum wage

non-compete agreements

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of wages

pregnancy and adult leave

public holidays

reservist leave

severance of employment

ill leave

short-term assistance agencies

termination of employment and temporary layoffs

tips or gratuities

getaway.

written policy on detaching from work.

written policy on electronic tracking of workers.

Reprisals are restricted

Employers are forbidden from punishing employees in any method due to the fact that the employee worked out ESA rights.

Clients of temporary help companies are restricted from penalizing assignment employees in any way because the project worker worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are prohibited from punishing prospective employees who engage or use the recruiter’s services in any method for particular factors, including asking the employer to adhere to the Act or investigating about whether a person holds a licence as needed by the ESA.

Employers, customers of momentary help companies and recruiters who dedicate a reprisal can be:

– bought to compensate the staff member, task staff member or potential staff member.

– purchased to renew the employee or assignment employee (if the reprisal was committed by a company or client of a momentary aid firm).

– bought to pay a penalty.

– prosecuted.

Find out more about reprisals.

Greater right or advantage

If a provision in an employment agreement or another Act gives a staff member a higher right or benefit than a minimum work requirement under the ESA then that arrangement uses to the staff member instead of the employment requirement.

No waiving of rights

No staff member can agree to waive or offer up their rights under the ESA (for instance, the right to receive overtime pay or public vacation pay). Any such agreement is null and space.

Enforcement and compliance

Violations of the ESA can lead to enforcement action.

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

– an order to pay.

– a compliance order.

– a ticket.

– a notification of contravention with a financial penalty.

– an order to restore and/or compensate.

– prosecution.

Other workplace-related laws

The ESA contains only a few of the guidelines affecting operate 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.

Act, 1995.

Pay Equity Act.

Human Rights Code.

To learn more about other Ontario laws, contact ServiceOntario:

– Tel: 416-326-1234 (in Toronto).

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

– online at ServiceOntario.ca.

Federal laws impacting work environments consist of statutes on earnings tax, employment insurance and the Canada Pension Plan.

To learn more about federal laws, call the Government of Canada details line at 1-800-622-6232.

Who is not covered by the ESA?

Most workers and companies in Ontario are covered by the ESA. However, the ESA does not apply to some people and the people or companies they work for, such as:

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

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

– people working under a program that is approved by a profession college registered under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005.

– secondary school students who work under a work experience program licensed by the school board that operates the school in which the trainee is registered.

– people who do community involvement under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.

– authorities officers (other than for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do apply).

– inmates participating in work or rehab programs, or people who work as part of a sentence or order of a court.

– people who hold political, judicial, religious or chosen trade union workplaces.

– major junior ice hockey players who meet particular conditions related to scholarships.

– people who satisfy the definition of organization expert or information innovation expert under the ESA if certain conditions are satisfied.

For a complete listing of other people not governed by the ESA, please examine the ESA and its policies.

Employee misclassification

Employers are forbidden from misclassifying employees as independent specialists, interns, volunteers or any other type of worker not covered by the ESA.

Discover more about employee misclassification.

Additional resources

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

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

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