This guide is a hassle-free source of information about crucial sections of the ESA. It is for your details and help only. It is not a legal file. If you need information or specific language, please describe the ESA itself and its policies.

This guide must not be utilized as or thought about legal advice. You may have greater rights under an employment contract, cumulative agreement, the typical law or other legislation. If you're not sure about anything in this guide, please talk with an attorney.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These consist of:

benefit strategies
bereavement leave
kid death leave
crime-related child disappearance leave
important illness leave
declared emergency situation leave
domestic or sexual violence leave
the work requirements poster: distribution requirements
equivalent pay for equivalent work
family caregiver leave
household medical leave
household obligation leave
filing a claim
hours of work, consuming durations and rest durations
contagious illness emergency situation leave
licensing - short-lived help firms and employers
lie detector job tests
base pay
non-compete agreements
organ donor leave
overtime pay
payment of wages
pregnancy and parental leave
public holidays
reservist leave
severance of employment

temporary assistance companies
termination of employment and temporary layoffs
ideas or gratuities
holiday.
composed policy on detaching from work.
composed policy on electronic tracking of workers.
Reprisals are prohibited

Employers are restricted from punishing workers in any way because the employee exercised ESA rights.

Clients of momentary assistance firms are forbidden from punishing assignment staff members in any way because the project employee worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are forbidden from punishing potential workers who engage or use the employer's services in any way for specific factors, consisting of asking the employer to abide by the Act or inquiring about whether an individual holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, clients of temporary aid firms and recruiters who commit a reprisal can be:

- purchased to compensate the employee, task employee or prospective worker.
- ordered to restore the worker or assignment employee (if the reprisal was dedicated by an employer or client of a short-lived assistance company).
- bought to pay a charge.
- prosecuted.
Discover more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

If a provision in a work agreement or another Act gives a worker a greater right or advantage than a minimum employment standard under the ESA then that provision uses to the employee instead of the work requirement.

No waiving of rights

No staff member can agree to waive or quit their rights under the ESA (for example, the right to get overtime pay or job public vacation pay). Any such arrangement 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 breach with a monetary charge.
- an order to renew and/or compensate.
- prosecution.
Other workplace-related laws

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

Related Ontario laws consist of the:

Occupational Health And Wellness 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 earnings tax, work insurance and the Canada Pension.

To learn more 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 companies in Ontario are covered by the ESA. However, the ESA does not use to some people and individuals or organizations they work for, such as:

- workers and companies 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 railways.
- individuals working under a program approved by a college of used arts and technology 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 trainees who work under a work experience program licensed by the school board that runs the school in which the student is enrolled.
- people who do community participation under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.
- police officers (except for the lie detectors provisions of the ESA, which do use).
- prisoners taking part in work or rehab 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.
- significant junior ice hockey players who fulfill specific conditions related to scholarships.
- individuals who fulfill the meaning of service expert or infotech specialist under the ESA if particular conditions are satisfied.
For a complete listing of other people not governed by the ESA, please check the ESA and its guidelines.

Employee misclassification

Employers are restricted from misclassifying staff members as independent professionals, interns, volunteers or any other type of employee not covered by the ESA.

Discover more about employee misclassification.

Additional resources

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