Appeals

Appeals under the Employment Standards Act

An employee or an employer can appeal any Employment Standards’ Officers Decision and/or Order under the Northwest Territories’ Employment Standards Act.

The Employment Standards Officer is appointed under the Employment Standards Act by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to mediate between the employer and employee, and/or to determine if wages are owed to an employee.  The Employment Standards Officer makes a formal decision under the Act if a complaint cannot be mediated between the two parties.

A Decision is a formal document that outlines who the parties of the complaint are, what the basis of the complaint is, what was reviewed and analyzed during the investigation of the complaint and the Employment Standards Officer’s final decision on the complaint.

An Order is a legal document that requires an employer to pay outstanding wages to an employee.

The Employment Standards Act and Regulations is the basic legal authority in the Northwest Territories which sets out minimum employment standards and provides for the enforcement of these laws by the Employment Standards staff.

The Employment Standards Act applies to most employees and employers that perform work in the Northwest Territories and sets out the minimum employment standards for the Northwest Territories.  

If you have an appeal that is related to your health and safety you must contact the Northwest Territories Worker’s Safety and Compensation Commission.  If you have an appeal related to Human Rights, you must contact the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission.

Filing an Appeal

If you have rights to appeal a Decision made by the Employment Standards’ Officer, you will receive a Decision and/or Order package through Canada Post by registered mail from the Employment Standards’ office.  In the package there will be instructions on how to file an appeal along with the required appeal forms.

Anyone wishing to appeal a Decision or Order of the Employment Standards Officer must do so within 30 days of receiving their Decision and/or Order package.  If an appeal is not received within that time frame you will no longer have any rights to appeal. 

In the Decision / Order package you will be told to:

  • Specify in writing the reasons for filing your appeal by filling out the Employment Standards Notice of Appeal Form.
  • Complete the Employment Standards Appeal Fee Payment form and provide the required $50 appeal fee:
    • The fee must be in the form of a certified cheque, money order or cash.
    • Please make your appeal fee payment payable to: the Government of the Northwest Territories – Employment Standards.
  • In the case of an employer appealing, in addition to providing the appeal fee, they must also provide a certified cheque or money order for the full amount of the Order to be held in trust until the appeal is finalized.
  • Please make this payment payable to Employment Standards. 

Adjudicators

Adjudicators are appointed under the Employment Standards Act by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to hear appeals of the Employment Standards Officer’s Decisions and/or Orders.

The current Adjudicators that hold an appointment under the Act are:

  • Richard Daitch
  • Louis Sebert
  • Colin Baile
  • Joan Mercredi

Once all required information is submitted to the Registrar of Appeals one of the three adjudicators is assigned to review the appeal.  The Adjudicators review process can take up to a number of months up to a year to complete depending on the information or issues that need to be reviewed.