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This guide is a practical source of info about crucial sections of the ESA. It is for your info and assistance just. It is not a legal file. If you require information or precise language, please refer to the ESA itself and its guidelines.

This guide ought to not be used as or considered legal recommendations. You may have higher rights under an employment agreement, collective arrangement, the common law or other legislation. If you're unsure about anything in this guide, please speak to a lawyer.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

benefit strategies
bereavement leave
child death leave
crime-related kid disappearance leave
critical disease leave
declared emergency situation leave
domestic or sexual violence leave
the work requirements poster: distribution requirements
equivalent spend for equivalent work
family caretaker leave
household medical leave
household duty leave
filing a claim
hours of work, consuming durations and rest durations
infectious illness emergency situation leave
licensing - temporary help agencies and recruiters
lie detector tests
minimum wage
non-compete agreements
organ donor leave
overtime pay
payment of earnings
pregnancy and parental leave
public vacations
reservist leave
severance of employment
ill leave
temporary assistance agencies
termination of employment and momentary layoffs
ideas or gratuities
vacation.
written policy on disconnecting from work.
composed policy on electronic tracking of employees.
Reprisals are prohibited

Employers are restricted from punishing employees in any method since the employee worked out ESA rights.

Clients of momentary assistance agencies are forbidden from penalizing project workers in any method because the task employee worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are restricted from penalizing prospective staff members who engage or use the employer's services in any way for certain reasons, consisting of asking the recruiter to adhere to the Act or investigating about whether a person holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, clients of short-lived aid agencies and job recruiters who devote a reprisal can be:

- ordered to compensate the worker, assignment worker or prospective worker.
- purchased to reinstate the worker or assignment worker (if the reprisal was dedicated by a company or customer of a short-lived help agency).
- bought to pay a charge.
- prosecuted.
Learn more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

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

No waiving of rights

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

Enforcement and job compliance

Violations of the ESA can result in 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 notification of contravention with a financial penalty.
- 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 concerns 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, job 1995.
Pay Equity Act.
Human Rights Code.
To learn 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 affecting work environments consist of statutes on income tax, work insurance 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 use to some individuals and the individuals or organizations they work for, such as:

- workers and in sectors that fall under federal work law jurisdiction, such as airline companies, banks, the federal civil service, post offices, radio and television stations and inter-provincial trains.
- 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 runs the school in which the student is enrolled.
- individuals who do community involvement under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.
- police officers (other than for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do apply).
- inmates taking part in work or rehabilitation programs, or individuals who work as part of a sentence or job order of a court.
- people who hold political, judicial, spiritual or elected trade union workplaces.
- major junior ice hockey players who satisfy specific conditions associated with scholarships.
- individuals who satisfy the meaning of organization consultant or infotech specialist under the ESA if particular conditions are fulfilled.
For a total listing of other individuals not governed by the ESA, please inspect the ESA and its policies.

Employee misclassification

Employers are restricted from misclassifying workers as independent contractors, interns, volunteers or any other type of worker 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 available to assist you:

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