This guide is a hassle-free source of info about essential sections of the ESA. It is for your details and support only. It is not a legal document. If you require information or specific language, please describe the ESA itself and its guidelines.

This guide ought to not be used as or considered legal advice. You may have greater rights under an employment contract, cumulative arrangement, the common law or other legislation. If you're unsure about anything in this guide, please talk to an attorney.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

advantage strategies
bereavement leave
kid death leave
crime-related kid disappearance leave
critical illness leave
stated emergency leave
domestic or sexual violence leave
the employment requirements poster: distribution requirements
equal spend for equivalent work
family caregiver leave
household medical leave
household duty leave
suing
hours of work, eating periods and rest periods
contagious disease emergency leave
licensing - short-term aid firms and recruiters
lie detector tests
minimum wage
non-compete agreements
organ donor leave
overtime pay
payment of salaries
pregnancy and adult leave
public holidays
reservist leave
severance of work
authorized leave
short-term aid companies
termination of employment and short-lived layoffs
suggestions or gratuities
holiday.
written policy on disconnecting from work.
written policy on electronic tracking of workers.
Reprisals are restricted

Employers are prohibited from penalizing staff members in any method due to the fact that the staff member worked out ESA rights.

Clients of temporary assistance agencies are restricted from penalizing task employees in any method since the project employee worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are restricted from punishing prospective employees who engage or use the employer's services in any method for particular reasons, including asking the employer to abide by the Act or investigating about whether a person holds a licence as required by the ESA.

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

- ordered to compensate the employee, assignment worker or potential employee.
- purchased to restore the worker or project employee (if the reprisal was committed by a company or customer of a short-lived aid company).
- bought to pay a charge.
- prosecuted.
Find out more about reprisals.

Greater right or advantage

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

No waiving of rights

No staff member can accept waive or provide up their rights under the ESA (for instance, the right to get overtime pay or public vacation pay). Any such agreement is null and void.

Enforcement and employment compliance

Violations of the ESA can lead to enforcement action.

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

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

The ESA includes just a few of the guidelines 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.
For more details 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 income tax, work insurance coverage and the Canada Pension.

For more details about federal laws, call the Government of Canada info 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 individuals and individuals or companies they work for, such as:

- workers and employers 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 railways.
- people working under a program approved by a college of used arts and technology or university.
- individuals working under a program that is authorized by a profession college registered under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005.
- secondary school students who work under a work experience program authorized by the school board that operates the school in which the student is enrolled.
- individuals who do neighborhood participation under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.
- cops officers (other than for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do apply).
- inmates participating in work or rehabilitation programs, or people who work as part of a sentence or order of a court.
- individuals who hold political, judicial, spiritual or elected trade union offices.
- significant junior ice hockey gamers who fulfill particular conditions connected to scholarships.
who fulfill the definition of organization consultant or details innovation specialist under the ESA if certain conditions are fulfilled.
For a total listing of other people not governed by the ESA, please examine the ESA and its policies.

Employee misclassification

Employers are restricted from misclassifying workers as independent specialists, interns, volunteers or any other kind of employee not covered by the ESA.

Learn more about employee misclassification.

Additional resources

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

- The Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual is the main recommendation 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 offered to address your concerns about the ESA. Information is available in numerous languages. You can reach the info centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.