Overview

From May 1 to August 31, 2018, Ministry of Labour employment standards officers conducted an inspection initiative focusing on employers in the construction industry.

During the inspection initiative, employment standards officers focused on:

  • residential building construction
  • non-residential building construction
  • foundation, structure and building exterior contractors
  • other specialty trade contractors

Background

Construction workers may be at greater risk of having their employment standards rights violated as many work in seasonal, part-time or temporary jobs that fall outside the traditional employment relationship of full-time, permanent employment with one employer.

The construction inspection initiative helped educate and raise awareness of employee entitlements under the Employment Standards Act (ESA), increase workplace compliance with the ESA and helped to protect employees’ rights.

Results

  • 1,266 total inspections
  • 571 employers compliant (no violations found)
  • 695 employers not compliant
  • 1,463 compliance tools issued (compliance orders, notices of contravention, tickets or orders to pay wages)
  • 93% rate of voluntary compliance (percentage of money recovered during the inspection initiative that was owed to employees and voluntarily paid by employers)
  • $1,563,330 recovered for employees
  • 5,166 employees benefitted from this initiative
  • public holidays and public holiday pay, overtime pay, and vacation pay and vacation time were the most common monetary violations
  • vacation pay: written agreements, record keeping and wage statements were the most common non-monetary violations

Compliance enforcement summary

An employment standards officer can issue a non-monetary compliance order if the officer finds an employer has contravened the ESA. The officer can order an employer or other person to stop contravening a provision and to take certain steps to comply.

In total, officers issued 1,324 compliance orders during the construction inspection initiative.

If an employer owes money to an employee (i.e. monetary contravention), and they do not voluntarily comply (by paying the employee any outstanding wages), an officer issues an order to pay wages owing to the employee.

Officers also issued tickets to employers during the inspection initiative under Part I of the Provincial Offences Act. The tickets included a $295 fine plus a victim fine surcharge.

In total, officers issued four tickets during the construction inspection initiative.

Employment standards officers have the authority to issue notices of contravention with penalties starting at $350 when they believe an employer has contravened an ESA provision.

In total, officers issued 127 notices of contravention.