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Are you thinking of filing an employment standards claim?
Here are a few things you need to know.
Employees’ rights are protected here in Ontario.
If you believe your employer has violated the Employment Standards Act
(often referred to as “the ESA”)
and/or the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act
(or “EPFNA,” for short),
you can file a claim for free online
with the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development
at your own convenience.
Visit Ontario.ca/EmploymentStandards
for more information on employee rights and employer obligations.
Don’t wait too long to file your claim.
Typically, employees must file a claim
within two years of the alleged ESA violation,
and three-and-a-half years of the alleged EPFNA violation.
Your right to file a claim is protected by law.
It’s illegal for your employer,
or a person acting on their behalf,
to threaten or punish you for filing a claim,
or preparing to file one.
Your personal information,
including your address, phone number and email,
will not be shared with your employer.
However, details provided about the claim
may be shared with your employer as part of the investigation.
Once you start the process,
you will be asked a series of questions
to help the ministry better assess your claim.
All information provided in the claim
must be truthful to the best of your knowledge.
Depending on the complexity of your claim,
it may take up to an hour to complete the claim application.
For additional information,
please call the Employment Standards Information Centre
toll-free at 1-800-531-5551
or 1-866-567-8893 for the TTY service.
Information is available in many languages.
Here is what you need to file an online claim
with the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development.
You’ll need internet access, an email address,
and a computer or mobile device with a supported browser,
like Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Microsoft Edge.
You can also sign up for the Claimant Portal,
which will give you the ability to save a partially completed claim,
and return to it or check the status of your claim at any time.
Using the portal is up to you.
If you choose not to sign up for the claimant portal,
you will need to complete your claim submission in one sitting,
and you will not be able to log in later
to check the status of your claim.
There is another video outlining the Claimant Portal sign-up process
at Ontario.ca/ESAclaims.
Here are the steps to file a claim.
Visit Ontario.ca/ESAclaims.
Before you start the process of filing your claim,
collect important documents about your work history.
The types of documents that may
come in handy will depend on your claim,
but might include things like pay stubs,
records of your hours worked,
or your record of employment.
You will be asked a series of preliminary questions.
Once you’ve completed this process,
you will be provided with the option to sign up for the claimant portal,
or to proceed without signing up.
You will need to fill in the claim form as best you can.
You will be prompted if any mandatory information is missing.
You can easily upload supporting documents
in a variety of common file formats,
like PDFs, Word Documents or JPEGs.
Then you will have an opportunity to review your claim.
And if all the information is correct, you can submit it.
You will receive your claim number immediately.
You can make a note of it if you like,
but a copy of your claim
and a Confirmation of Filing letter will be emailed to you.
The ministry will review your claim
to ensure that you've provided all required information.
Once your claim has been processed,
it will be assigned for investigation,
and the investigating officer will contact you.
We hope this video has been helpful.
For more information, or to file a claim,
visit Ontario.ca/ESAclaims.
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