Frequently Asked Questions
- Content Last Reviewed: October 2009
- What is the Ministry of Labour
- What laws does the Ministry of Labour oversee?
- Who is covered by Ontario’s labour laws?
- What rights and responsibilites do volunteers and their organizations have?
- What is the history of the Ministry of Labour?
- Who is the Minister of Labour?
- How is the Ministry of Labour organized?
- What are the Ministry of Labour’s agencies, boards and commissions?
- What is the relationship between the Ministry of Labour and its agencies, board and commissions?
- How can I contact the Ministry of Labour?
- Will the Ministry of Labour help find me a job?
What is the Ministry of Labour?
The Ministry of Labour is one of 29 major government departments in the Ontario government. The Ministry of Labour and its agencies play a key role in the province by promoting safe and healthy workplaces, fair employment practices and stable labour relations.
The ministry's three program responsibilities – occupational health and safety, employment rights and responsibilities and labour relations – are administered and delivered from a head office in Toronto, four other downtown Toronto locations and 24 district offices organized around four regions centred in Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa and Sudbury.
In achieving its goals and program responsibilities, the ministry is supported by the work of eight specialized agencies, each of which functions with varying degrees of independence from the ministry.
What laws does the Ministry of Labour oversee?
The ministry:
- Enforces the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to maintain fair employment practices
- Enforces the Occupational Health and Safety Act to reduce or eliminate workplace injuries and illnesses and
- Administers the Labour Relations Act, 1995 to promote a stable labour relations climate and harmonious workplace relationships.
Who is covered by Ontario’s labour laws?
Most workers are covered by Ontario’s labour laws. However, there are some exceptions.
For detailed information, please see exemptions for:
Occupational Health and Safety
Labour Relations (link to LR FAQ covering this topic)
What rights and responsibilites do volunteers and their organizations have?
Volunteers are not covered by the Employment Standards Act, 2000
Under the Workplace Safety & Insurance Act, 1997, some types of volunteers are covered such as volunteer firefighters, but volunteers in most workplaces are not covered.
Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, a worker is defined in part as being “a person who performs work or supplies services for monetary compensation.” This definition does not include volunteers. However, employers still have some responsibility for the health and safety of people visiting or helping out in their workplaces.
What is the history of the Ministry of Labour?
The Ministry of Labour’s origins date back to 1882, when the Ontario government established the Bureau of Industry under the Department of Agriculture.
In 1900, the Bureau of Industry was renamed the Bureau of Labour. It was transferred from the Department of Agriculture to Public Works. The bureau was replaced in 1916 by the Trades and Labour Branch while still under Public Works.
In April 1919, Bill 169 brought all labour matters under the new Department of Labour. It was renamed the Ministry of Labour in 1970 when the Department of Labour Actwas repealed and replaced by the Ministry of Labour Act.
The Ministry of Labour has been integral to the establishment of Ontario’s work laws.
How is the Ministry of Labour organized?
The Ministry of Labour is organized into key five areas overseen by the offices of the Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Labour.
- Minister’s Office oversees the ministry’s political affairs. The office is run by political staff employed by the current elected government. The office is headed by the Minister of Labour, an elected Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP).
- Deputy Minister’s Office oversees the ministry’s bureaucracy. It is headed by the Deputy Minister of Labour, a civil servant appointed by the Secretariat of Cabinet, Ontario’s top civil servant.
The five key areas overseen by these offices are:
- Operations Division which is the ministry’s largest division. It enforces Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act and Employment Standards Act. Visit the Employment Standards and Health and Safety sections of our website.
- Policy, Program Development and Dispute Resolution Services Division which provides policy and program development advice to the Minister of Labour on health and safety, workplace insurance, employment standards and labour relations matters. The division also provides neutral, third-party dispute resolution services.Visit the Labour Relations section of our our website.
- Internal Administrative Services Division which provides administrative services to the ministry covering things such as business planning, financial control, human resources, facilities management and other business support services.
- Communications and Marketing Branch which produces communications services to the minister and all ministry policy and program areas.
- Legal Services Branch which provides a wide range of services, including giving legal advice to the minister and ministry staff and conducting prosecutions under employment standards and occupational health and safety law. Visit the Legal Services section of our website.
What are the Ministry of Labour’s agencies, boards and commissions?
The Ministry of Labour has eight agencies, boards and commissions. They are:
- Grievance Settlement Board which is an adjudicative tribunal that provides dispute resolution services to certain management and excluded members of the Ontario Public Service and their employers
- Office of the Worker Adviser which advises non-unionized injured workers on workplace safety and insurance matters and represents them at appeals hearings
- Office of the Employer Adviser which provides advice to employers on workplace safety and insurance matters
- Ontario Labour Relations Board which is a quasi-judicial tribunal that mediates and adjudicates a variety of employment and labour relations-related matters under a number of Ontario statutes
- Pay Equity Office which is responsible for implementing and enforcing Ontario’s Pay Equity Act
- Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal which hears and decides unresolved disputes under the Pay Equity Act
- Workplace Safety & Insurance Board which promotes workplace health and safety, and administers a workers’ compensation benefit fund for the employers and workers of Ontario
- Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal which is the final level of appeal for workers and employers with disputes involving workplace safety and insurance matters in Ontario
What is the relationship between the Ministry of Labour and its agencies, board and commissions?
Each agency, board and commission operates at arm’s length, with varying degrees of independence from the Ministry of Labour.
