The appellant employee filed a complaint under the Employment Standards Act for unpaid commissions.
An employment standards officer rejected the claim without providing the employee an opportunity to respond to the employer's submissions.
The employee subsequently pursued a civil action for wrongful dismissal and the unpaid commissions.
The lower courts held the civil claim for commissions was barred by issue estoppel.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that while the preconditions for issue estoppel were met, the doctrine should not be applied as a matter of discretion because the administrative decision was made in a manifestly unfair manner.
