3433-98-ES The Polish Alliance of Canada o/a Place Polonaise, Applicant v. Urszula Marynowicz, and Ministry of Labour, Responding Parties.
BEFORE: Brian McLean, Vice-Chair.
APPEARANCES: no one appearing for the applicant; Urszula Marynowicz and Tadeusz Olech for Urszula Marynowicz; Stephen Mason for the Ministry of Labour.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; January 19, 2000
1This is an employer appeal of an Order to Pay made by an Employment Standards Officer under the Employment Standards Act.
2On August 30,1999 the Registrar of the Ontario Labour Relations Board notified the parties that a hearing would be held in this matter on January 18, 2000 at 9:30 a.m. in the Board’s offices.
3By letter dated January 14, 2000, received by the Board on January 17, 2000 at 11:58 a.m., the solicitor for the applicant wrote to request an adjournment due to the fact that he had the flu and could not prepare for or attend the hearing. The Ministry of Labour had consented to such adjournment, but the responding party did not.
4The Board’s Registrar’s office contacted the applicant’s solicitor on January 17, 2000 and advised him that his request for an adjournment had not been granted.
5On January 18, 2000, the date scheduled for the hearing, neither the applicant nor its solicitor attended the hearing. The Board waited its customary one-half hour after the scheduled start time before commencing the hearing.
6The Board asked for the parties’ positions on the adjournment request. The Ministry of Labour advised the Board that it had consented to adjourn the matter on January 5, 2000 due to the applicant’s solicitor’s flu and it had not withdrawn that consent. The responding party objected to the matter being adjourned.
7Under the circumstances, the Board is not prepared to adjourn the hearing into this matter. Neither the applicant’s solicitor, nor the applicant, appeared to conduct a hearing, or argue for an adjournment, although an adjournment had not been granted in advance of the hearing. Another representative could have and should have been sent in place of the solicitor, if the solicitor was unable to attend. A party cannot just assume that a request for an adjournment will be granted.
8Accordingly, this application is dismissed. I order that the wages paid to the “Director in Trust” in relation to this matter be paid to the responding party and that the administration fees as set out in the Order to Pay be retained by the Government of Ontario’s Consolidated Reserve Fund.
“Brian McLean”
for the Board