REPRISALS
Welcome to another employment standards podcast from the Ministry of Labour.
In today's segment, we are going to look at reprisals.
"Reprisal" is another word for "penalty".
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The Employment Standards Act sets out the minimum standards that must be followed in most Ontario workplaces.
It outlines employer responsibilities and employee rights.
Employees must be able to exercise their rights under the act without being reprised against - or penalized - by their employer.
This is why the Act prohibits the employer - or someone acting on the employer's behalf - from threatening, intimidating, dismissing or penalizing an employee in any other way, because the employee has:
• asked the employer to comply with the Employment Standards Act
• asked questions about their rights under the act
• filed a complaint with the Ministry of Labour
• exercised or tried to exercise a right under the act,
• participated in a proceeding under the act, or
• given information to an employment standards officer
Employers are also prohibited from reprising against an employee because an employee has:
• taken or is planning on taking, is eligible or will become eligible for a leave under the Act such as parental, pregnancy, personal emergency, family medical, organ donor, or reservist leave
• is subject to a garnishment order - in other words, is required to have a certain amount deducted directly from wages to satisfy a debt
• in the case of certain retail workers, refused Sunday work.
• or refused to take a lie detector test,
Employers are also prohibited from penalizing an employee because the employee participated in proceedings under the Retail Business Holidays Act regarding tourism exemptions that would allow a retail store to stay open during public holidays.
An employee who believes that he or she has been unlawfully penalized can file a complaint with the Ministry of Labour.
The complaint will be investigated by an employment standards officer. If the officer finds that the employer unlawfully penalized the employee, the officer can order the employer to:
• reinstate the employee to his or her job, if the employer had unlawfully fired or demoted the employee.
• compensate the employee for monetary losses incurred because of the reprisal, and,
• pay the employee all wages that may be owing.
These anti-reprisal rules help to ensure that employers comply with their responsibilities, and employees can exercise their rights free from any fear of reprisal or punishment.
For more information on reprisals and rights and responsibilities under the Employment Standards Act, please go to our website.
The address is ontario.ca - forward slash - employment standards - one word.
That's ontario.ca - forward slash - employment standards - one word.
Click on the Topics and Publications section, and go to reprisals.
This link will take you to the guide on reprisals and information on officers' orders to compensate or reinstate.
Or, you may call our Information Centre at 1-800-531-5551.
That's 1-800-531-5551.
There, we can provide more information on employment standards in Ontario.
Thank you for listening.