Ontario Ministry of Labour Blitz
Ontario’s Ministry of Labour made headlines last week when they began an annual blitz on potentially abusive employers. The purpose was to target employers who take advantage of workers by failing to adhere to the requirements outlined in the Employment Standards Act. The targeted industries, according to the Ministry, include fitness and recreation, restaurants and janitorial services. The Ministry’s goal is to hold employers accountable for respecting employee entitlements such as minimum wage, eating periods and overtime pay.
The crackdown comes on the heels of amendments to the Employment Standards Act that came into force recently. The amendments, which stem from Bill 18, the Stronger Workplaces for Stronger Economy Act, 2014, aim to protect vulnerable Ontario workers.
Key amendments include changes to Section 111, which outlines the amount of time an employee has to file a complaint. Previously, an employee whose entitlements under the Act were violated could not recover wages unless his or her complaint was made within six months. That time limit has now been extended to two years.
Additionally, Section 3(5) now requires every employer to provide each of his or her employees with a copy of a poster, published by the Ministry, clearly outlining an employee’s entitlements under the law. The poster, which can be obtained here, describes the law as it relates to hours of work, meal breaks, overtime pay, minimum wage, vacation pay, public holidays, leaves of absence, and termination notice. The Ministry of Labour has given employers until June 19, 2015 to make the poster available to employees. No doubt, they’ll be checking this summer.
I’m not sure whether this continues the 2013 blitz on unpaid workers in Ontario. But the MoL seems to be inconsistent in its approach when it serves the Government’s interests:
A few small for-profit companies hire a handful of unpaid interns for the summer – MoL crack down.
The 2015 Pan / Parapan Am Games hires 23,000 unpaid volunteers for 6 to 12 shifts of 6 to 10 hours – MoL is nowhere to be found. In fact, we see Training, Colleges and Universities Minister Brad Duguid saying things like “volunteering is volunteering.”
The MoL has clearly arrived at the conclusion that if you do work and do not work for yourself, you are entitled to the minimum wage. What then would allow the 2015 Pan / Parapan Am Games to hire 23,000 volunteers to do “work” for no compensation whatsoever? (It’s possible I could be missing something.)
Clearly people should be able to work for free in Ontario if they want. I doubt this hinges on whether their employer decides to call them an “intern” or a “volunteer.
Maybe the MoL should acknowledge issues around minimum wage are not as simple as they sound. A better interpretation of the law would treat people like adults: if you decide to do work and you decide to do it understanding that you will not be compensated, then you are not entitled to ESA protections like the minimum wage.