1005-00-ES Rapid Refrigeration Manufacturing Company Limited, Applicant v. Jian-Bo Huang and Ministry of Labour, Responding Parties.
Employment Practices Branch File No. 34002257
BEFORE: Inge M. Stamp, Vice-Chair.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; November 29, 2000
This is an employer application filed pursuant to section 68 of the Employment Standards Act (the “Act”) requesting review of the Order to Pay No. 56560, dated May 15, 2000. The hearing for this matter has been scheduled for December 19, 2000.
The applicant, Rapid Refrigeration Manufacturing Company Limited, requests an adjournment of this hearing to sometime after March 2001. The responding party, Mr. Jian-Bo Huang opposes this request as he is leaving the country in January 2001and is not certain of his return.
In response to the Ministry of Labour’s letter the applicant advised the Ministry by letter dated November 15, 2000, that the President of the company and a necessary witness are in Florida at the time of the hearing and will not be returning until late March 2001. The Ministry is not taking any position with respect to this request.
The Board has a long-standing practice to grant adjournments only on agreement or in circumstances that are generally beyond control of the party seeking the adjournment. The initial hearing dates are set by the Registrar. Travel plans, business or personal, made by a party to the proceeding are not “extraordinary circumstances” that would cause the Board to adjourn a hearing over the objections of one of the other parties.
A four months’ adjournment in the circumstances is not reasonable. The request for an adjournment is denied.
“Inge M. Stamp”
for the Board