Excerpt from the Ontario government’s ‘Newsroom’
JSI Mechanical Inc., a heating, ventilation and air conditioning business, and its director, Paul Iori of Thornhill, have been fined a total of $25,000 for failing to pay an employee after being ordered to do so.
The employer, JSI Mechanical, failed to pay wages, vacation pay and public holiday pay of $6,131.97 when ordered to do so on June 9, 2014 by an employment standards officer from the Ministry of Labour. The company’s director, Paul Iori of Thornhill, failed to comply with an order to pay $5,574.52 as ordered on August 22, 2014.
Justice of the Peace Cornelia Mews imposed the fines in Newmarket court on April 29, 2016.
In addition to the fines, the court ordered JSI Mechanical to pay the wages owing.
My opinion
The law(s) in contravention:
JSI Mechanical Inc. was found guilty of a contravention of the Ontario Employment Standards Act, section 132 which states,
“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 $50,000 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.”
Paul Iori was also found guilty of a violation of the same Act, section 136 (director) which states,
“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.
Penalty
(2) A director convicted of an offence under subsection (1) is liable to a fine of not more than $50,000.
What else is there to say? One has to pay one’s employees and is usually subject to fines that are even or can exceed the original payments that were needed to be made. Here we find Paul Iori fined $25,000 AND has to pay back the approximate $11,700.00 owing in the first place.
I wonder how many more times this guy needs to be reminded?
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