$1.5M in wages recovered for construction workers

TORONTO — Ministry of Labour inspectors found over half of the construction employers visited during Employment Standards Act (ESA) jobsite inspections between May 1 and Aug. 31 last year were non-compliant with the ESA.

The report, issued in November, noted, “Construction workers may be at greater risk of having their employment standards rights violated as many work in seasonal, part-time or temporary jobs that fall outside the traditional employment relationship of full-time, permanent employment with one employer.”

The inspection statistics are as follows:

• 1,266 total inspections
• 571 employers compliant (no violations found)
• 695 employers not compliant
• 1,463 compliance tools issued (compliance orders, notices of contravention, tickets or orders to pay wages)
• 93 per cent rate of voluntary compliance (percentage of money recovered during the inspection initiative that was owed to employees and voluntarily paid by employers)
• $1,563,330 recovered for employees
• 5,166 employees benefitted
• public holidays and public holiday pay, overtime pay, and vacation pay and vacation time were the most common monetary violations.