This guide is a convenient source of information about essential sections of the ESA. It is for your details and support only. It is not a legal file. If you need details or specific language, please describe the ESA itself and its guidelines.

This guide ought to not be used as or employment considered legal suggestions. You may have higher rights under a work agreement, cumulative arrangement, the common law or other legislation. If you're uncertain about anything in this guide, please talk to a legal representative.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

advantage strategies
bereavement leave
child death leave
crime-related kid disappearance leave
crucial disease leave
stated emergency situation leave
domestic or sexual violence leave
the employment requirements poster: employment distribution requirements
equal spend for equal work
household caretaker leave
household medical leave
household duty leave
submitting a claim
hours of work, eating durations and pause
contagious disease emergency situation leave
licensing - temporary assistance firms and employers
lie detector tests
minimum wage
non-compete agreements
organ donor leave
overtime pay
payment of earnings
pregnancy and adult leave
public vacations
reservist leave
severance of employment
ill leave
short-lived aid firms
termination of work and temporary layoffs
suggestions or gratuities
holiday.
written policy on disconnecting from work.
composed policy on electronic monitoring of staff members.
Reprisals are restricted

Employers are prohibited from punishing employees in any method since the staff member exercised ESA rights.

Clients of momentary aid agencies are forbidden from penalizing project employees in any way due to the fact that the assignment staff member exercised ESA rights.

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

Employers, clients of short-lived aid firms and employers who dedicate a reprisal can be:

- bought to compensate the employee, project staff member or potential worker.
- bought to restore the worker or project worker (if the reprisal was devoted by a company or customer of a short-term help agency).
- purchased to pay a penalty.
- prosecuted.
Find out more about reprisals.

Greater right or advantage

If an arrangement in a work contract or another Act gives an employee a greater right or benefit than a minimum employment requirement under the ESA then that provision applies to the worker instead of the employment standard.

No waiving of rights

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

Enforcement and compliance

Violations of the ESA can result in enforcement action.

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

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

The ESA contains just a few of the rules impacting operate in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs concerns 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, 1995.
Pay Equity Act.
Human Rights Code.
To find out more about other Ontario laws, ServiceOntario:

- Tel: 416-326-1234 (in Toronto).
- Toll-free: 1-800-267-8097 (in the rest of Ontario).
- online at ServiceOntario.ca.
Federal laws affecting work environments include statutes on earnings tax, employment insurance coverage 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 employers in Ontario are covered by the ESA. However, the ESA does not apply to some people and individuals or companies they work for, such as:

- employees and companies in sectors that fall under federal work 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 approved by a college of used arts and innovation or university.
- individuals working under a program that is approved by a career college registered under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005.
- secondary school trainees who work under a work experience program licensed by the school board that operates the school in which the student is enrolled.
- individuals who do community involvement under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.
- cops officers (except for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do use).
- prisoners participating 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 offices.
- major junior employment ice hockey gamers who meet certain conditions related to scholarships.
- people who meet the meaning of organization consultant or infotech consultant under the ESA if specific conditions are met.
For a total listing of other people not governed by the ESA, please examine the ESA and its regulations.

Employee misclassification

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

Find out more about staff member misclassification.

Additional resources

In addition to this guide, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and employment Skills Development (MLITSD) has additional resources offered 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 analysis, administration and enforcement of the ESA.
- Staff at the Employment Standards Information Centre are available to answer your concerns about the ESA. Information is readily available in many languages. You can reach the information centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.