1 Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

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This guide is a convenient source of details about key areas of the ESA. It is for your information and help just. It is not a legal document. If you require information or precise language, please refer to the ESA itself and its guidelines.

This guide ought to not be utilized as or thought about legal guidance. You may have higher rights under a work agreement, collective arrangement, the typical law or other legislation. If you're not sure about anything in this guide, please speak to an attorney.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These consist of:

benefit strategies
bereavement leave
kid death leave
crime-related kid disappearance leave
important illness leave
stated emergency situation leave
domestic or sexual violence leave
the work standards poster: distribution requirements
equal spend for equal work
household caregiver leave
household medical leave
family duty leave
submitting a claim
hours of work, consuming durations and rest periods
contagious disease emergency leave
licensing - temporary help firms and recruiters
lie detector tests
minimum wage
non-compete arrangements
organ donor leave
overtime pay
payment of salaries
pregnancy and parental leave
public vacations
reservist leave
severance of employment
authorized leave
temporary assistance companies
termination of employment and short-term layoffs
suggestions or gratuities
getaway.
written policy on detaching from work.
written policy on electronic tracking of staff members.
Reprisals are restricted

Employers are forbidden from punishing employees in any way since the employee exercised ESA rights.

Clients of temporary aid companies are restricted from penalizing project employees in any method because the project staff member exercised ESA rights.

Recruiters are forbidden from punishing potential workers who engage or utilize the recruiter's services in any method for particular reasons, consisting of asking the employer to abide by the Act or inquiring about whether a person holds a licence as needed by the ESA.

Employers, customers of momentary aid companies and employers who commit a reprisal can be:

- ordered to compensate the employee, assignment worker or potential worker.
- bought to restore the staff member or project staff member (if the reprisal was committed by an employer or client of a momentary assistance company).
- purchased to pay a charge.
- prosecuted.
Find out more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

If an arrangement in a work agreement or another Act provides an employee a greater right or benefit than a minimum employment requirement under the ESA then that arrangement uses to the employee rather of the employment standard.

No waiving of rights

No employee can accept waive or give up their rights under the ESA (for example, the right to receive overtime pay or public vacation pay). Any such contract is null and void.

Enforcement and compliance

Violations of the ESA can result in enforcement action.

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

- an order to pay.
- a compliance order.
- a ticket.
- a notification of conflict with a financial penalty.
- an order to restore and/or compensate.
- prosecution.
Other workplace-related laws

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

Related Ontario laws include the:

Occupational Health And Wellness Act.
Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.
Labour Relations Act, employment 1995.
Pay Equity Act.
Human Rights Code.
For more info 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 consist of statutes on earnings tax, employment insurance and the Canada Pension.

To find out 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 individuals and the people or companies they work for, such as:

- workers and companies in sectors that fall under federal work law jurisdiction, such as airline companies, banks, the federal civil service, post workplaces, radio and tv stations and inter-provincial railways.
- individuals working under a program authorized by a college of used arts and technology or university.
- individuals 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 the school in which the student is registered.
- individuals who do community participation under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.
- policeman (except for the lie detectors provisions of the ESA, which do apply).
- inmates taking part in work or rehabilitation programs, or individuals who work as part of a sentence or order of a court.
- people who hold political, judicial, religious or elected trade union workplaces.
- major junior ice hockey gamers who meet certain conditions connected to scholarships.
- individuals who fulfill the meaning of organization expert or infotech consultant under the ESA if particular conditions are fulfilled.
For a total listing of other individuals not governed by the ESA, please examine the ESA and its regulations.

Employee misclassification

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

Find out more about employee misclassification.

Additional resources

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

- The Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual is the main referral source for the policies of the Director of Employment Standards appreciating the analysis, administration and enforcement of the ESA.
- Staff at the Employment Standards Information Centre are available to address your questions about the ESA. Information is offered in numerous languages. You can reach the info centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.