1. Find out if you’re covered by the Employment Standards Act

Ontario's Employment Standards Act (ESA) sets the basic rules that employers must follow. These include rules about leaves of absence.

But the ESA does not apply to all jobs. And, for some jobs, only parts of the ESA apply.

Read the Ministry of Labour's Industries and Jobs with Exemptions or Special Rules to find out:

• if your job is covered by the ESA
• which rules that are in the ESA apply to you

You can also call the Ministry's Employment Standards Information Centre at 1-800-531-5551. For TTY, call 1-866-567-8893.

Human rights laws

If the ESA does not apply to your job, you may still be able to take time off work based on Ontario's human rights laws. Learn more about your human rights in Step 5.