The Employment Standards Act: A Comprehensive Guide

This article provides a comprehensive guide to the Employment Standards Act in Ontario. It explains the purpose and objectives of the act, its legislative history, and the enforcing authority. It also covers the key provisions of the act and how to file a claim for violation of its provisions.

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The selected legislation is “The Employment Standards Act” which is a provincial legislation
related to Ontario.
Part 1
The main purpose of this act is to regulate employment within the Ontario province.
The objective of this act is to set the minimum standards in relation to various associated
rights and obligations related to both employer and employee. The key issues addressed
include maximum work hours, leaves of absence, vacation, overtime and wages. It also
covers issues related to termination of employment along with severance along with ensuring
equal way for equal amount of work done. It is imperative to note that this act is different
from the Ontario Labour Relations Act as its provisions are only applicable to unionized
labour within Ontario. However, the scope of the employment standards act covers those
employees who are not unionized and ensure that harmonious relationship exists between
employer and employees (Ontario Government, n.d.).
Part 2
The Employment Standards Act was first implemented in Ontario in 1968. At the
time, it was essentially a consolidation of the existing acts related to employment standards
existing at the time. Key provisions of this act included clauses related to minimum wage,
maximum work hours, vacation with pay. Before the enactment of this act in 1968, there
were separate acts in Ontario covering each of above aspects. From 1970 to 1999, various
amendments were introduced related to various subjects such as overtime, pregnancy leaves,
termination related provisions, severance pay, lie detection and unpaid wages. In 2000, a
thorough review of the existing act was carried as provincial consultations between
significant stakeholders were held. Some new provisions related to rest periods, reprisals,
hours of work, enforcement were also added. This new law became the Employment
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Standards Act, 2000 which has been amended to include newer provisions and alterations of
the existing provisions (Ministry of Labour, n.d.).
Part 7
The enforcing authority for this act is the Ministry of Labour. In case that the
employer is in violation of the provisions of the act, then the impacted employee may file a
claim with the Ministry of Labour. This claim is then investigated by employment standards
officer and then based on the investigation, suitable punishment may be given whereby
unpaid wages to employees would have to be paid by the defaulting employer. Employees
who are part of any union or have registered the matter in Court cannot file a claim to the
Ministry under this act. Further, proactive reviews are also carried out by employment
standards officers so as to ensure the provisions related to this act are complied with. If any
lapses are found, then suitable monetary punishments are levied. The monetary fines tend to
increase with each violation and can also result in imprisonment of 12 months (Ontario
Government, n.d.).
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References
Ministry of Labour (n.d.) 5.1 Legislative History of the ESA, Retrieved on March 15, 2019
from https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/about/cwr_interim/chapter_5_1.php
Ontario Government. (n.d.) Employment Standards Act, 2000, Retrieved on March 17, 2019
from https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act
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