A high-school student and former part-time restaurant worker won a case against his employer after losing his job following repeated requests to be paid.
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The unidentified employer didn’t appear before the Administrative Labour Tribunal, which heard the student’s complaint.
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After being hired in July 2021, the student noticed in early August that he still hadn’t been paid. He complained to the restaurant owner, who said that his business account had been frozen due to fraud.
Starting in September, the youth worked 12 hours a week at the restaurant. He received no pay either in September and October 2021. The business owner once again blamed a frozen bank account and other difficulties.
On Oct. 22, the owner told the student not to come to work and that he was going to close the restaurant. A week later, he told him that his job and the other part-time positions would be eliminated. “He told him that he would receive his pay on Nov. 2, which didn’t happen,” the tribunal said in its decision.
Because the employer failed to appear in court, he couldn’t give his version of the facts. “The employer didn’t show any evidence to support his decision and didn’t meet his burden of proof. His absence at the hearing is fatal,” the Administrative Judge wrote in the ruling.
The tribunal therefore upheld the student’s complaint that he had been dismissed for exercising a right under the Labour Code to be paid for work.
The tribunal also cancelled the student’s October 2021 dismissal. It ordered the restaurant to pay him $1,179 for lost wages and vacation pay, all with interest accrued since the filing of his complaint in November 2021.
However, the ruling didn’t order the young worker’s reinstatement. “The plaintiff isn’t seeking reinstatement because he’s been able to see that the restaurant has closed its doors since his complaint was filed,” the judge wrote.
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