{"id":46173,"date":"2012-05-25T17:54:34","date_gmt":"2012-05-25T21:54:34","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-01-08T16:28:06","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T21:28:06","slug":"how-can-i-enforce-my-rights-worker","status":"publish","type":"publications-page","link":"https:\/\/www.cleo.on.ca\/en\/publications-page\/how-can-i-enforce-my-rights-worker","title":{"rendered":"If your employer breaks the law"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You may be able to make a claim with the Ministry of Labour if your employer does not follow the rules in the ESA.<\/p>\n<p>The Ministry can order your employer to pay you any money that they owe you.<\/p>\n<p>You must make a claim for unpaid wages within <strong>2 years<\/strong> of when your employer owed you the money.<\/p>\n<p>In some cases, the Ministry can order your employer to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>give you your job back, and<\/li>\n<li>pay you for any loss you had because of what your employer did.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This can happen if your employer breaks the law by punishing you for exercising your legal rights that are in the ESA.<\/p>\n<p>For example, you are exercising your legal rights if you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>take the pregnancy or parental leave you have a right to, and return to your job at the end of your leave<\/li>\n<li>ask about your rights or ask your employer to obey the law<\/li>\n<li>refuse to sign an agreement that affects your rights, such as an agreement about how your employer will pay you for overtime<\/li>\n<li>make an ESA claim against your employer (see page 31)<\/li>\n<li>give information to an Employment Standards Officer who is investigating your employer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"left-line\">\n<h3>Take notes and keep documents<\/h3>\n<p>If you make a claim against your employer, it is very helpful to have records of the hours and dates that you worked.<\/p>\n<p>Make notes about events that might relate to your claim. Include the names of any witnesses.<\/p>\n<p>Keep your pay stubs and any documents that relate to your job like your employment contract.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>How to make an ESA claim<\/h2>\n<p>Get the Ministry of Labour&#8217;s <strong>Employment Standards Claim Form<\/strong> at a ServiceOntario Centre.<\/p>\n<p>Or go to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontario.ca\/page\/ministry-labour-immigration-training-skills-development\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.labour.gov.on.ca<\/a> and click on &#8220;File an employment standards claim&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Fill out the form and:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>send it in online,<\/li>\n<li>take it to a ServiceOntario Centre,<\/li>\n<li>fax it to the Ministry of Labour at <strong>1\u2011888\u2011252\u20114684<\/strong>, or<\/li>\n<li>mail it to the Provincial Claims Centre, 70 Foster Drive, Suite 410, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 6V4.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To find the nearest ServiceOntario Centre, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontario.ca\/page\/serviceontario\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ontario.ca\/page\/serviceontario<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Or call the Employment Standards Information Centre at <strong>1-800-531-5551<\/strong>. For TTY, call <strong>1\u2011866-567-8893<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Suing your employer in court<\/h2>\n<p>In some cases, you may be able to <strong>sue your employer in court<\/strong>. If you do, you cannot make a claim for the same reason with the Ministry of Labour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-46173","publications-page","type-publications-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>If your employer breaks the law - CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario \/ \u00c9ducation juridique communautaire Ontario)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cleo.on.ca\/en\/publications-page\/how-can-i-enforce-my-rights-worker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If your employer breaks the law - CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario \/ \u00c9ducation juridique communautaire Ontario)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You may be able to make a claim with the Ministry of Labour if your employer does not follow the rules in the ESA. 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