Toronto Company Convicted of Failing to Obey Orders to Pay Wages
March 7, 2017
TORONTO, ONTARIO – Quality Brand Products Corporation has been convicted on 24 counts of failing to obey orders to pay wages. The orders amounted to about $32,000 and the wages owed varied between about $100 to $4,500.
The company, which operated at 82 Akron Road, Unit 1 in Toronto, failed to comply with orders to pay wages issued between April 2014 and February 2016. The orders were issued by an employment standards officer under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act.
Under the ESA, if an employment standards officer finds that an employer owes wages to an employee, the officer may order the employer to pay the amount owed. A person who contravenes the ESA or its regulations, or fails to comply with an order under the act, is guilty of an offence.
After a trial in Toronto court, Justice of the Peace Mohammed Brihmi found the company guilty on March 7, 2017 and imposed a fine totaling $72,000. All wages were outstanding.
The 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.
An individual convicted under the ESA may be fined up to $50,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both. A corporation can be fined up to $100,000 for a first conviction, $250,000 for a second conviction and $500,000 for a third or more convictions.
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