Quick links

File a document

Find a form

Find a decision

Employment standards - Compliance Order Appeals

Table of contents

    What is a compliance order appeal?

    A Compliance Order Appeal is an appeal of a decision by the Labour Program of Employment and Social Development Canada (the Labour Program) about an employer’s failure to respect minimum work conditions.  

    What is a compliance order?

    Part III of the Canada Labour Code contains minimum terms and conditions of employment that employers in federally regulated workplaces have to meet.  

    The minimum standards set by the Canada Labour Code cover subjects such as: 

    • hours of work; 
    • minimum wages;
    • the payment of wages;
    • overtime pay;
    • vacation pay; and 
    • holiday pay.

    When an employee believes that their employer has not paid them the wages or other amounts that they are owed, they can file a Wage Recovery Complaint with the Head of Compliance and Enforcement at the Labour Program. For information about Wage Recovery Complaints and Appeals, click here. 

    If the complaint is about compliance with other minimum standards (for example, if the employer is not respecting hours of work or break times), an employee can file a complaint with the Labour Program. The Labour Program will then investigate the complaint and may issue an order directing the employer to correct the situation. This is called a “Compliance Order.” 

    The Labour Program can also investigate an employer’s compliance with minimum standards without receiving a complaint from an employee. 

    What if I do not agree with the compliance order?

    If you are an employer and you do not agree with the Compliance Order, you have 15 calendar days to ask the Head of Compliance and Enforcement to review the decision.

    However, if you received the Compliance Order at the same time as a Notice of Violation, you have 30 calendar days to ask the Head of Compliance and Enforcement to review the decision. For more information on Notices of Violation and Administrative Monetary Penalty Appeals, click here. 

    Only an employer that received a Compliance Order can ask for a review of the decision.

    What happens after I request a review of the Labour Program’s decision?

    The Head of Compliance and Enforcement has two options. They can:

    1. review the Compliance Order that was issued by the Labour Program and either agree with it, cancel it or change it; or 
    2. refer the file to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (the Board) for it to make the decision.

    If the Head of Compliance and Enforcement decides to personally review the Compliance Order and issues a review decision (option “a” above), the employer can appeal the review decision to the Board.

    IMPORTANT: If you are an employer and you believe that the Labour Program should not have issued a Compliance Order against you, you must first file a request for review of the decision with the Labour Program. The Board can only get involved once the Labour Program has either:

    • reviewed the Compliance Order and made its decision, which can then be appealed by the employer; or 
    • decided not to review the Compliance Order and referred the matter to the Board.