Employment standards officer issued orders to pay wages, but suspects did not comply, says government
Two employers and a company director in Ontario have been fined a total of $86,000 for failing to pay wages to workers and subsequently disregarding a legal order to do so, according to the provincial government.
Six employees of Aemulus Corporation and Jackman Enterprises filed claims with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development for unpaid wages accrued between July 2019 and July 2020.
Following an investigation, an employment standards officer determined that the two companies owed the workers approximately $85,000 in total.
Recently, a British Columbia tribunal ordered a Richmond-based truck repair company to pay more than $115,000 to a foreign worker from India who was required to pay $25,000 to secure employment and was subsequently underpaid during his tenure. The worker claimed he was later shorted wages, according to a report by CBC News.
From the 2017-2018 fiscal year to July 2024, employers owe workers in Ontario a total of $60 million unpaid wages that were not collected by the government, according to a previous report from CBC.
Employers, director failed to follow orders
The Ontario Ministry of Labour officer issued orders for Aemulus Corporation and Jackman Enterprises and Christopher Winston Jackman-El-Hajj – who acted as corporate director for both companies – to pay the workers’ wages.
However, “neither the companies nor the director complied with the orders and the entire amount of each order remains outstanding,” said the Ontario government.
“Failing to comply with an order issued by an employment standards officer is an offence under sections 132 and 136(1) of the Employment Standards Act.”
Section 132 states that:
A person who contravenes this Act or the regulations or fails to comply with an order, direction or other requirement under this Act or the regulations is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable,
(a) if the person is an individual, to a fine of not more than $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than 12 months or to both;
(b) subject to clause (c), if the person is a corporation, to a fine of not more than $100,000; and
(c) if the person is a corporation that has previously been convicted of an offence under this Act or a predecessor to it,
(i) if the person has one previous conviction, to a fine of not more than $250,000, and
(ii) if the person has more than one previous conviction, to a fine of not more than $500,000. 2000, c. 41, s. 132; 2024, c. 19, Sched. 2, s. 4.
Meanwhile, Section 136 states:
(1) A director of a corporation is guilty of an offence if the director,
(a) fails to comply with an order of an employment standards officer under section 106 or 107 and has not applied for a review of that order; or
(b) fails to comply with an order issued under section 106 or 107 that has been amended or affirmed by the Board on a review of the order under section 116 or with a new order issued by the Board on such a review. 2000, c. 41, s. 136 (1).
Penalty
(2) A director convicted of an offence under subsection (1) is liable to a fine of not more than $50,000. 2000, c. 41, s. 136 (2).
Jackman-El-Hajj was fined $50,000 total for six counts of failing to comply with director orders to pay, and the two corporations were fined $36,000 total for two counts of failing to comply with orders to pay wages.
The Provincial Offences Court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
Previously, the Ontario Labour Relations Board rescinded an Order to Pay of more than $28,000 against an employer for alleged unpaid wages, overtime pay, vacation pay, and public holiday pay.
Also, the Manitoba Labour Board dismissed an appeal by a worker who alleged unpaid wages and discrepancies in her record of employment (ROE).
