This guide is a convenient source of details about essential areas of the ESA. It is for your info and help just. It is not a legal file. If you require information or precise language, please describe the ESA itself and its guidelines.

This guide must not be utilized as or considered legal recommendations. You may have higher rights under an employment contract, collective contract, the common law or other legislation. If you're uncertain about anything in this guide, please talk to a lawyer.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

advantage plans
bereavement leave
kid death leave
crime-related kid disappearance leave
crucial health problem leave
declared emergency situation leave
domestic or sexual violence leave
the employment requirements poster: distribution requirements
equal pay for equivalent work
household caregiver leave
household medical leave
family obligation leave
suing
hours of work, eating durations and pause
transmittable disease emergency leave
licensing - help firms and employers
lie detector tests
base pay
non-compete contracts
organ donor leave
overtime pay
payment of wages
pregnancy and employment parental leave
public holidays
reservist leave
severance of employment
ill leave
temporary aid firms
termination of work and momentary layoffs
suggestions or gratuities
holiday.
composed policy on detaching from work.
composed policy on electronic monitoring of workers.
Reprisals are forbidden

Employers are restricted from punishing staff members in any method due to the fact that the employee worked out ESA rights.

Clients of momentary assistance firms are prohibited from penalizing task workers in any method since the assignment staff member exercised ESA rights.

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

Employers, customers of short-term assistance agencies and recruiters who devote a reprisal can be:

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

Greater right or advantage

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

No waiving of rights

No staff member can accept waive or employment provide up their rights under the ESA (for example, the right to receive overtime pay or public vacation pay). Any such agreement 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 upon which provision 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 reinstate and/or compensate.
- prosecution.
Other workplace-related laws

The ESA contains just a few of the guidelines 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 include 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 affecting offices include statutes on earnings tax, employment insurance coverage and the Canada Pension Plan.

For more info about federal laws, call the Government of Canada information line at 1-800-622-6232.

Who is not covered by the ESA?

Most workers 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:

- employees and companies in sectors that fall under federal employment law jurisdiction, such as airlines, banks, the federal civil service, post offices, radio and television stations and inter-provincial trains.
- individuals working under a program authorized by a college of used arts and technology or university.
- people working under a program that is approved by a career 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 registered.
- individuals who do community participation under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.
- law enforcement officer (other than for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do use).
- prisoners taking part in work or rehabilitation programs, or people who work as part of a sentence or order of a court.
- individuals who hold political, judicial, religious or elected trade union workplaces.
- significant junior ice hockey gamers who satisfy certain conditions associated with scholarships.
- people who meet the definition of company specialist or information innovation consultant under the ESA if certain conditions are satisfied.
For a complete listing of other people not governed by the ESA, please inspect the ESA and its regulations.

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 worker 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 primary 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 address your concerns about the ESA. Information is offered in numerous languages. You can reach the information centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.