Summary

• New amendments to Employment Standards Act and Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act will improve the complaint and dispute-resolution process at the Employment Standards Branch (ESB)
• Changes will increase opportunities for early dispute resolution and make wage recovery for workers more efficient
• Amendments will improve clarity and maintain fairness in investigations for employers and workers

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Amendments to the Employment Standards Act and Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act will help clarify and improve the employment standards complaint and dispute-resolution process for employers and workers.

“The Employment Standards Branch (ESB) ensures that employees in B.C. receive minimum standards of compensation and conditions of employment, helping protect workers from exploitation,” said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour. “These proposed changes are steps toward improving the process, helping people get to resolution sooner.”

The ESB receives and investigates complaints of contraventions of the Employment Standards Act and the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act for non-unionized employees and temporary foreign workers, and facilitates voluntary compliance or issues decisions and levies penalties for contraventions under the two acts.

The amendments improve several parts of the complaint system by increasing opportunities for resolving complaints on issues that are clear and straightforward, and by helping match workers with their unclaimed wages more efficiently.

The proposed changes are intended to improve the complaint process without compromising access to the rights and protections that the Employment Standards Act and the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act provide to all workers in B.C.

Quick Facts:

• Approximately 75% of resolution meetings at the ESB result in voluntary resolution within 30 to 45 days from when a file is first assigned to an ESB officer.
• In 2019, $14 million was provided to track, investigate and penalize non-compliant employers, and barriers like the self-help kit were also removed to provide easier access to ESB’s services for workers.
• In 2023, the Province increased the ESB’s operating budget by approximately $12 million over three years.
• Current funding enables the ESB to employ approximately 100 investigators.

Learn More:

• To learn more about the Employment Standards Branch, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/employment-standards-advice/employment-standards
• For more information about B.C. legislation, visit: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/legislation

A backgrounder follows.