Hired Or Planning To Hire A Foreign Worker? You May Have Work To Do

Employees who work or are seeking work in Ontario pursuant to an immigration or foreign temporary employee program (also known as a "foreign nationals") are protected by the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act (EPFNA), which has been in effect since 2015.

Employers should be mindful of EPFNA because it imposes a number of obligations on them. Here is a summary of some key ones:

1. Employers who hire a foreign national without using a recruiter or who hired a foreign national prior to November 20, 2015 must provide that employee with two documents:  (a) EPFNA information sheet and (b) Employment Standards Act information sheet. These sheets are available here and here respectively.