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Jessica Paglia

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Jessica is an employment and labour lawyer who provides businesses with straightforward, tailored, and strategic legal advice and services. She has experience with a wide range of issues including contracts, workplace safety and insurance, human rights and accommodations, employment standards, wrongful dismissals, labour disputes, grievance arbitrations, collective bargaining, and collective agreement interpretation and application. Jessica also has experience conducting third-party workplace investigations.

Running a business in Ontario? You’ve got enough on your plate. Let’s make sure you’re up to speed on mandatory breaks under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”). 

Rest and Meal Breaks 

The ESA is clear: If your employees work more than five consecutive hours, they are entitled to a 30-minute break. You can’t skip it unless you want to risk non-compliance. The break is unpaid unless you require the employee to do any form of work during that time. For example, if an employee remains “on call” or at their desk during their break, they must be compensated for it.Continue Reading Mandatory Breaks in Ontario: What You Need to Know

Are you an Ontario farmer employer navigating the complexity of the special farm worker rules?  The second blog post in this series will outline who qualifies as a ‘farm worker’ for the purpose of farm worker exemptions. 

Although the Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) outlines standards of protection for workers, there are some industries wherein workers are exempt from these protections. Continue Reading Who is a Farm Worker under the ESA?

Are you an Ontario farmer employer navigating the complexity of the special farm worker rules?  This is the first of a few posts that will walk through the main employment law issues to consider for your agricultural employees.

In Ontario, the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) sets out the minimum standards for most employees, but there are specific exemptions for farm workers. These exemptions recognize the unique demands of agricultural work, which often require flexibility due to seasonal and weather-related factors. Continue Reading Understanding your Farm Worker ESA Exemptions in Ontario