This guide is a hassle-free source of details about key sections of the ESA. It is for your details and help only. It is not a legal document. If you require details or employment specific language, please describe the ESA itself and its regulations.

This guide must not be used as or considered legal advice. You may have higher rights under an employment agreement, cumulative contract, the common law or other legislation. If you're uncertain about anything in this guide, please speak to a legal representative.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

benefit plans
bereavement leave
kid death leave
crime-related kid disappearance leave
critical disease leave
stated emergency situation leave
domestic or sexual violence leave
the work standards poster: distribution requirements
equivalent spend for equal work
family caregiver leave
household medical leave
household responsibility leave
suing
hours of work, eating durations and pause
contagious disease emergency situation leave
licensing - momentary assistance companies and employers
lie detector tests
base pay
non-compete contracts
organ donor leave
overtime pay
payment of wages
pregnancy and parental leave
public holidays
reservist leave
severance of work
ill leave
momentary help agencies
termination of work and momentary layoffs
tips or gratuities
vacation.
composed policy on detaching from work.
composed policy on electronic tracking of staff members.
Reprisals are forbidden

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

Clients of short-term aid companies are forbidden from penalizing assignment employees in any method due to the fact that the assignment staff member worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are forbidden from punishing potential staff members who engage or use the recruiter's services in any method for particular reasons, consisting of asking the recruiter to comply with the Act or inquiring about whether a person holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, clients of momentary assistance agencies and who devote a reprisal can be:

- purchased to compensate the worker, task employee or potential worker.
- ordered to renew the worker or task staff member (if the reprisal was devoted by an employer or customer of a temporary aid agency).
- ordered to pay a penalty.
- prosecuted.
Find out more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

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

No waiving of rights

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

Enforcement and compliance

Violations of the ESA can lead to enforcement action.

The type 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 notice of contravention with a financial charge.
- an order to restore and/or compensate.
- prosecution.
Other workplace-related laws

The ESA includes only some of the rules affecting operate in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs concerns such as workplace health and security, 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.
To find out more 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 work environments include statutes on earnings tax, work insurance coverage and the Canada Pension.

For more info 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 the individuals or organizations they work for, such as:

- workers and employers in sectors that fall under federal employment law jurisdiction, such as airline companies, banks, the federal civil service, post offices, radio and television 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 approved by a profession college registered under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005.
- secondary school trainees who work under a work experience program authorized by the school board that operates the school in which the student is registered.
- individuals who do neighborhood participation under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.
- police officers (except for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do use).
- prisoners taking part in work or rehab programs, or people who work as part of a sentence or order of a court.
- people who hold political, judicial, spiritual or chosen trade union workplaces.
- major junior ice hockey gamers who fulfill certain conditions associated with scholarships.
- individuals who satisfy the definition of business specialist or infotech expert under the ESA if particular conditions are met.
For a complete 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 employment any other type of employee not covered by the ESA.

Discover more about worker 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 interpretation, administration and enforcement of the ESA.
- Staff at the Employment Standards Information Centre are available to answer your questions about the ESA. Information is readily available in numerous languages. You can reach the info centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.