Hire a worker without an LMIA: penalties for employers
Penalties
If we find you non-compliant, the penalty you’ll face mainly depends on the severity of the non-compliance.
You could face a number of penalties. Penalties are decided by a points system that looks at:
- the number of program violations
- how you did not comply
- your compliance history
- how serious the violation(s) is(are)
- the number of workers negatively affected by the violation(s)
- the size of the your business (for monetary penalties only)
- if you voluntarily disclosed information before we told you that you would be inspected
Possible penalties include:
- warning letters
- monetary penalties from $500 to $100,000 per violation
- up to a maximum of $1 million over 1 year
- a ban from hiring temporary workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or the International Mobility Program for 1, 2, 5, or 10 years
- a permanent ban from hiring temporary workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or the International Mobility Program (for serious violations only)
We may also:
- refuse any pending work permit applications tied to your business
- revoke active work permits that are tied to your business
Your business will also be added to the public list of employers who have been non-compliant if you receive:
- a monetary penalty of any amount
- a ban of any length of time
Page details
- Date modified: