Ont Ministry of Labour says it intends to enforce "clear" employment rules as part of "blitz"

The Ontario Ministry of Labour this afternoon issued a statement about unpaid magazine (and other) internships.

Statement from Ministry of Labour re internships at magazines. 

Our government knows that investing in young people means making sure they are treated fairly on the job and we have strong rules in place to help make that happen.

Ontario’s rules are clear - regardless of your job title or what you agreed to when you started - if you perform work for somebody, you are protected under the Employment Standards Act (ESA). 

There are very few exceptions to this requirement, such as those who are in training and meet very restrictive conditions, individuals who perform work under a program approved by a college of applied arts and technology or a university, and secondary school students performing work under a work experience program authorized by the school board. 

In December 2013, inspections of Toronto Life Magazine/St. Joseph Media and [The] Walrus Magazine were commenced to determine whether certain publicly posted positions were ESA compliant. As a result of these inspections, Compliance Orders were issued for violations of several standards: Wage Statements, Record Keeping, Minimum Wage, Public Holiday Pay and Vacation Pay. This means that, pending any appeal, the workers involved have to be paid. The inspections are ongoing and have not yet been completed. 

It is important to note that the Ministry of Labour has on-going educational outreach program and proactive inspection team to make sure both businesses and our youth are aware of these rules and Ministry’s officers already inquiry about unpaid interns during all proactive inspections.

In fact, the government invested an additional $3 million last year in proactive enforcement – hiring more inspectors and conducting more workplace inspections. 

The Ministry of Labour will be launching an enforcement blitz this spring focused specifically on internships across a variety of sectors. Any concerns regarding working arrangements can be referred to the Ministry of Labour's Information Centre at 1-800-531-5551. Information is available in 23 different languages.

Related posts:

• Tamara Baluja at J-source 
• The Globe and Mail's Simon Houpt 
• Kim Nursall in the Toronto Star 

The Walrus, now, says ministry of labour has closed intership program

The Walrus magazine is letting its interns go as the result of a crackdown by the Ontario ministry of labour that we first reported yesterday this week at Toronto Life. The co-publisher of The Walrus, Shelley Ambrose,  issued a statement today:

The Liberal Government of Ontario's Ministry of Labour has closed the internship program at The Walrus Foundation. The Ministry of Labour employment standards act inspector has said our four-to-six-month unpaid internships can no longer be offered unless the interns have a formal agreement for a work experience with a vocational school. We have been training future leaders in media and development for ten years, and we are extremely sorry we are no longer able to provide these opportunities, which have assisted many young Ontarians - and Canadians - in bridging the gap from university to paid work and in, many cases, to stellar careers.

Precedent tells its readers what it takes today to be "polished" at work

Precedent magazine has always prided itself on its sense of style. It has just published a six-part guide for its lawyer readers telling them what it means and takes to look polished today. It's a little bit different than in years past.In one part of the guide, a group of Bay Street lawyers sat down to say what it means to dress for the job. 

Among the other things we learn from their conversation that there is a lot more casual dress, particularly among senior partners, that women don't have to wear high or the highest heels anymore, that colour is not only allowed but more frequently seen, and that "nice, neat" beards are OK on men. 

In another part of the guide, the distinction is drawn between fashion and style at work.

“As with everything, you should dress for your audience,” says [Will] Stewart, [a consultant with the public relations firm Navigator]. “Know your clients, understand how they would view you with too much or too little emphasis on your attire. Dress as an extension of your work with them.”

 The case is also made for buying custom-made shoes, the kind that will set you back about $1,500. 

No blank cheque for protection of sources, but Supreme Court ruling has upsides, too

There are apparently as many benefits as drawbacks for writers and reporters in the recent Supreme Court ruling concerning National Post's Andrew Macintosh and documents concerning the Shawinigate investigation of 9 years ago. True, the court refused to endorse a blanket exemption for reporters wanting to protect their sources, but J-source's law section editor Dean Jobb provides a good analysis of the ruling and what it means for journalists.