Printer-friendly format

> Home > Am I covered by the Ontario Employment Standards Act? > Is my job covered?

Your job will not be covered by the ESA:

• if you work in a sector that falls under federal jurisdiction, such as airlines, banks, the federal civil service, post offices, radio and television stations and inter-provincial railways
• if you work in a work experience program approved by your school board if you are a secondary student, or approved by a college of applied arts and technology, or university
• if you do community participation under the Ontario Works Act, 1997
• if you are a police officer (except the Lie Detectors part of the ESA, which does apply)
• if you are an inmate of a correctional institution or penitentiary or being held in a detention centre under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada) and you participate in a work project or rehabilitation program
• if you perform work under an order or sentence of a court or as part of an alternative measure under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada)
• if you hold political, judicial or religious office
• if you hold an elected office in an organization, including a trade union.

1. Is my job partly covered by the ESA?
2. Does the ESA cover young workers who are working on assignments through temporary help agencies?
3. What if I think my employer is not following the ESA?
4. Can I see the ESA?

Is my job partly covered by the ESA?

Some jobs are covered by the ESA, but are exempt from some rules. Or they are covered by the ESA but there are special rules that apply to them.

The Are You Covered by the ESA? Fact Sheet contains a chart that lists workplaces and jobs where there are exceptions to the ESA's usual rules. It's organized alphabetically.

If you can't find your job, Contact us.

Does the ESA cover young workers who are working on assignments through temporary help agencies?

Yes it does. A worker is an "assignment employee" of an agency if the worker agrees with the agency that it will place, or try to place, the worker on temporary work assignments with a client (or clients) of the agency. Young workers working as assignment employees of temporary help agencies generally have the same rights as other employees under the ESA, including rights to public holidays and notice of termination or pay in lieu.

There are also some special rules under the ESA about work through temporary help agencies. For example:

• When hiring an assignment employee, a temporary help agency must give the employee certain information, including contact information for the agency and a document published by the ministry about assignment employees' rights under the ESA. When the agency offers an assignment with one of its clients, it must also provide certain client contact information and information about the proposed assignment.
• An agency cannot charge assignment employees, or prospective assignment employees, certain fees, including fees for help in finding an assignment with a client.
• An agency cannot prohibit a client from hiring an agency's assignment employee to work for it directly. It cannot prevent a client from giving an assignment employee a job reference.

When an assignment employee is on an assignment, the agency is still his or her employer; the client is not the employer.

A temporary help agency, or its client(s), cannot reprise against (punish) an assignment employee because the employee tries to exercise his or her ESA rights.

For more information please refer to Your Guide to the Employment Standards Act: Temporary Help Agencies

What if I think my employer is not following the ESA?

What if I think my employer is not following the ESA?

Can I see the ESA?

If you would like to read the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and the regulations that go with it, click here

Resources

This information is provided as a public service by the Government of Ontario. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the currency and accuracy of the information presented on the site, but readers should verify information before acting on it.

External Links Disclaimer

Copyright information: © Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2002-11