Industries and jobs with exemptions or special rules
Use this guide to help you understand which parts of your industry or job are not covered by the Employment Standards Act or covered by special rules that change how some parts of the act apply.
Overview
With a few exceptions, most employees and employers in Ontario are covered under the Employment Standards Act (ESA).
There are also some employees who are:
- not covered by certain parts of the act, known as “exemptions”
- covered by special rules that change how certain parts of the act apply
You can read about the special rules and exemptions for jobs in these categories:
- EMS, healthcare and health professionals
- Manufacturing, construction and mining
- Hospitality services and sales
- Transportation
- Agriculture, growing, breeding, keeping and fishing
- Household, landscaping and residential building services
- Government employees and professionals
- Other industries and jobs
The act sets out the rules and minimum standards employers and employees must follow, when it comes to:
- minimum wage and payment of wages
- tips and gratuities
- hours of work, lunch periods and overtime pay
- public holidays and public holiday pay
- vacation time and vacation pay
- leave for pregnancy, parents, family, medical, organ donation, personal emergencies and reservists
- notice of termination/termination pay and
- severance pay
Industries and jobs not covered under the Employment Standards Act
- Secondary school students working in co-operative programs authorized by their school board
- People participating in the Community Participation program as part of the Ontario Works program
- Police officers (with the exception of lie detector sections in Part XVI of the ESA
- Inmates taking part in work or rehabilitation programs
- Young offenders who perform work as part of a sentence or court order
- Politicians, judges, religious officials or elected trade union officials
- Post-secondary students working in co-operative or work experience programs approved by their college or university
- Employees whose jobs are regulated by federal employment laws and standards, such as:
- airlines
- banks
- the federal civil service
- post offices
- radio and television stations
- inter-provincial railways
- inter-provincial trucking
Contact us
For more information about your specific situation, please contact the Employment Standards Information Centre.
Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- 416-326-7160
1-800-531-5551 1-866-567-8893
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Ministry:
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Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development
The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development advances safe, fair and harmonious workplace practices that are essential to the social and economic well-being of the people of Ontario.
