New graduates entering the work force need to know and understand their rights and employment contracts, and the responsibilities of their employer in ensuring that employment standards and laws are met. Young graduates such as myself need to know how as an employee we are protected and supported by the government’s Employment Standards Act (ESA) and how the changes proposed to the Act will affect and benefit both the worker and the employer in the workplace. The changes to the Act being considered will better reflect the realities of today’s workforce and will protect and support not just young people going into the work place in Ontario, but all workers specifically with the new changes to wages, dress code and uniforms and overtime. …show more content…
The old, or current, ESA has a minimum wage requirement, but it allows employers to pay students under 18 at a lower minimum wage than those over 18, and part-time and fulltime workers doing the same job do not have to be paid at the same rate. The new ESA changes propose that employees, regardless of age, have to be paid the same minimum wage as everyone else and part-time workers doing the same job as full time workers would have to be paid at the same rate. This change would bring Ontario in line with the rest of Canada, as Ontario is the only province still allowing differential wage practices. A recent article in the Toronto STAR (“Bosses who broke law haven’t learned their lesson, labour ministry blitz finds”, March 15, 2017) contained the following comment which highlights the current vulnerabilities and unfairness for workers due to the present range of exemptions allowed from the standards, which affect particularly new and young workers: “Critics have long called on the government to remove the existing array of exemptions and special rules that exclude some jobs from minimum standards, which they say leads to widespread confusion, complicates enforcement, and costs workers up to $45 million in potential earnings each week.” So, workers are currently losing a great deal of …show more content…
The current ESA does not make it clear whether a worker has to comply with such provisions, even when the requirements do not make sense or place the worker in an uncomfortable or demeaning situation, which has nothing to do with the functional aspects of the job. For example, some employers want men to wear jackets and ties at all times when the job really does not require this in order for the worker to perform the job successfully. Similarly, employers often require female wait-persons in bars and restaurants to wear sexualized uniforms to entice male customers to frequent their businesses. Proposed changes to the ESA would make it clear that a workplace dress code cannot violate a collective agreement’s provisions, the Ontario Human Rights Code or the rules under the Occupational Health and Safety Act; this will allow workers to have more voice in what to wear on the job, and reflects the changing attitude to dress in the workplace, as more work places are allowing for more casual dress, such as at Google, placing the focus on the work to be done and not what someone is wearing. The Ontario Human Rights Commission has recently published a “Dress Code Checklist for Employers” to enable them to maintain
Facts of the Case: In 2008, Samantha Elauf applied for a job at Abercrombie & Fitch, Inc., who as part of their “Look Policy” prohibit the use of caps. Elauf, as part of her religious practice, wore a headscarf to the interview. She was interviewed by assistant manager Heather Cooke, who gave her a score that qualified her to be hired. Cooke, however, was worried that Elauf’s headscarf was against the store’s policy and called her district manager Randall Johnson. She informed Johnson of her belief that Elauf wore her headscarf because of her religion, and Johnson replied that headwear whether it was religious or not violated the “Look Policy” of the store. Elauf with the help of the EEOC sued Abercrombie on the grounds of religious discrimination. The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is an agency established by the government of the United States that imposes federal laws that make it
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is an acclaimed organization that prevents discrimination through educating and promoting human rights in Ontario (OHRC, About the Commission). Their goal is for each individual in Ontario be valued; so that everyone can participate and feel they are an important part to the community while being respected and treated with dignity. As well, they make sure each individual take responsibility for the rights of others, so human rights can be achieved by all (OHRC, About the Commission). OHRC accomplishes this through wide range of educational activities and partnership initiatives to promote code violations and advancement of human rights and reduce discrimination, to decrease the occurrence of formal human rights complaints (OHRC, Public Education). Their website provides the public with access to a wide array of information and educational resources. OHRC provides educational sessions to employers, unions, professional associations, community organizations and other groups who are partners with them to develop a culture of human rights (OHRC, Public Education). While decreasing the occurrence of formal human rights complaints, they maintain fair hiring and employment practices and also encourages diversity in the workforce and they do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment in the workforce. (OHRC, Employment) When the OHRC deliver services to the public they make sure to be responsive to the diversity of the population served, and stay fair to each person, and their right to be free from discrimination by keeping them informed always (OHRC, Our Commitment to Service). Section 30 of the Ontario Human Rights Code allows OHRC to prepare, approve and publish human rights policie...
Precarious employment, also known as precarious work, is a type of employment that is unstable, doesn't provide job security, may have high risk working conditions, often does not provide much in the way of benefits nor the option for workers to join a union, and typically provides low wages that usually are, on their own, insufficient to support a basic household. Precarious employment can include part-time, temporary, self-employment and contract work categories. In recent years during tougher economic conditions, this type of employment has become more and more common in some of Canada’s most populated major cities, such as Toronto and Hamilton, and it continues to be on the increase. Employers are taking advantage of this less expensive
Generally speaking, employers have the legal right to establish dress and grooming code for employees. Some companies requires formal business attire, some companies allow employees to dress down on “casual Fridays,” and others adopt a more relaxed dress code throughout the week. Some employers particularly in the retail sector, require employee to wear uniform’s bearing the company logos or to dress in particular types and colors of clothing associated with the stores. All of these are legal as long as they do not discriminate. A dress code might by discriminatory if it is treated employees differently based on a protected trait or if it has a disproportionate effect on members of a protected class.
"Why Dress Codes and Why Now?" Clearinghouse on Educational Policy and Management. Web. 13 Dec. 2011.
According to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2013), workplace violence epidemic in Canada is so concerning that health care professionals are at great risk for developing health problems and nurses may even leave the profession sooner than planned. Within this paper, I will explore the concept of workplace violence and the following three issues of negative impact of my psychological well-being, decreased self-esteem and a sense of powerlessness. In my paper, I will also provide a brief description of a clinical situation from my past nursing experience. I will also discuss the relevance of the topic as it relates to me personally and professionally. Then, I will identify, discuss and analyze three issues within the clinical situation and I will use theory to substantiate the points discussed. I will also discuss how my future practice may be influenced by my clinical situation and I will conclude based on what I have learned during the development of this paper.
Unemployment is a growing concern and faces the job crisis that is in occurring in Canada. Job employment is essential for a country to gain economic growth. The reasoning as to why Canada has a job crisis is in fact because of this imaginary line. The imaginary line divides the rich who want to get richer and average citizens who want to split it equally amongst each other. Data collected in the early 1980s by UBC economists Thomas Lemieux and Craig Riddell display that there was not any evidence of a difference in real income growth for the average citizen between 1982 and 2010 (1).
Industrial and Labor Relations Review. Vol. 53, No. 3. Becker. "
Precarious employment is labor that is under-paid, with minimum to no benefits, hardly no control over work schedules and often not enough to provide for a household and these employees are said to have a lack of control over these factors. As temporary and part-time jobs are on the rise in Canada it is safe to say that Canada’s labor force is becoming more and more precarious. Countless employees live and function in precarious locations mainly because precarious employment is made up of immigrants, women, and minorities. Unfortunately, precarious employment is becoming the new norm in cities such as Toronto with a spiking 18.4% of the GTA population. These kind of jobs cause a significant amount of stress on the individual and because of
This article focuses on the effects of a new minimum wage in Toronto, Canada. The Ontario government is planning to increase the minimum wage from $11.40 to $15 by 2019. A minimum wage is a level of income set by the government, which is the lowest amount an employer can pay an employee. A minimum wage is typically introduced to protect the employees of an economy by setting a wage that could support a minimum standard of living. A minimum wage will increase the average income of a country, and this increases the welfare in a society.
In workplaces, dress codes can specify the level of clothing employees are expected to wear, such as: suits, dresses, casual, etc. Many Americans also feel comfortable in wearing as little clothing as possible, some feminists see this as their way of taking back their sexuality and empowering themselves. These values are mostly universal in
Employment law (EL) is a system that was set up to protect employees by instituting laws that require standards for employers to follow in the treatment of their employees. This can include providing benefits to the workers such as health insurance to the employee and their families. Employment law protects workers from being discriminated against because of race, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or being a veteran. Employment law is a necessary system that the government can oversea to protect human rights in the workplace.
The Equal Opportunity Agency of Employment, or EOAE, is an agency that holds the standards and regulations of other agencies to lawful, and societal standards in terms of equal employment opportunity. This organization gives the stamp of approval that an agency has met the standards of equal pay; gender rights, and ensures that the work environment is free of discrimination. This is in response to ongoing complaints about these issues within the workplace. Being a proprietary organization receiving federal funding monetary resources helps make agency standard checks consistent and annual. Incorporating feminist theories helps “emphasize interpersonal relationships and respect for each other’s right to be heard and contribute” (Kirst-Ashman,
Laws are in place for protection. Often one may look at rules and only think that it protects one side but in reality, laws exist to protect everyone involved. Whereas the initial viewing of a law seems to protect a particular demographic, the reality is that laws protect those who need to adhere to said laws as well. In the case of employees and employers as long as everyone follows the rules everyone benefits. The employers have happy employees and the employees can concentrate on work because in no way are they being violated.
More and more, young women are being targeted and punished for dress code violations. While this may be due to the fact that fashion in today’s society is all about tight clothes, it could also lead to more