The information in this chapter is currently being updated to reflect amendments to the ESA that came into force on July 1, 2023. Consequently, some of the information below is out of date. Please check back soon for updates.

Employers are prohibited from penalizing or threatening to penalize employees in any way for:

  • asking the employer to comply with the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and its regulations
  • asking questions about rights under the ESA
  • filing a complaint under the ESA
  • exercising or trying to exercise a right under the ESA
  • giving information to an employment standards officer
  • asking about the rate of pay paid to another employee to determine if an employer is providing equal pay for equal work
  • disclosing their rate of pay to another employee to determine if an employer is providing equal pay for equal work
  • taking, planning on taking, being eligible or becoming eligible for a pregnancy, sick, bereavement, family responsibility, declared emergency, family caregiver, family medical, critical illness, organ donor, reservist, domestic or sexual violence, crime-related child disappearance or child death leave;
  • being subject to a garnishment order (i.e., a court order to have a certain amount deducted from wages to satisfy a debt)
  • participating in a proceeding under the ESA
  • participating in a proceeding under section 4 of the Retail Business Holidays Act (regarding tourism exemptions that allow retail businesses to open on holidays)

If an employee does any of the above an employer cannot for that reason:

  • punish the employee
  • reduce the employee's pay
  • intimidate the employee
  • suspend the employee
  • fire the employee
  • penalize the employee in any other way, or
  • threaten any of these actions

An employer that does penalize an employee for any of these reasons can be ordered by an employment standards officer to:

  • reinstate an employee to their job
  • compensate an employee for any loss incurred because of a violation of the ESA

An officer may also order an employer to pay any wages that he or she finds are owing to an employee, whether or not there has been a reprisal.

Example

Maria found out that her employer pays her less than minimum wage. She asked her employer to start paying her the minimum wage and to make up for all that she is owed for the employer's failure to pay the minimum wage in the past.

Her employer became upset and fired Maria. Maria thought that she was fired because she asked to be paid the minimum wage under the Employment Standards Act, 2000.

Maria filed a claim with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. An employment standards officer investigated her claim.

The employment standards officer found that Maria's employer penalized Maria for asking her employer to be paid minimum wage.

The employment standards officer ordered Maria's employer to:

  • give Maria's job back to her
  • pay Maria the wages she was owed for the employer's failure to pay minimum wage in the past
  • pay Maria the wages and vacation pay that she would have earned between the date that she was fired and the date that she got back her job
  • increase Maria's pay to minimum wage

For information on additional reprisal protections that apply in the context of Part XVIII.1 – Temporary Help Agencies, please see "Temporary help agencies".

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