1230-00-ES Canadian Office of Human Rights, Applicant v. Pauline Lachapelle and Ministry of Labour, Responding Parties.
Employment Practices Branch File No.: 20 034752
BEFORE: Pamela Chapman, Vice-Chair.
APPEARANCES: No-one appearing for the applicant; Pauline Lachapelle appearing on her own behalf; Darcy Watson for the Ministry of Labour;
DECISION OF THE BOARD; May 16, 2001
1This is an application pursuant to section 68 of the Employment Standards Act, R.S.O. 1990 e.E-14 as amended, (the "Act").
2At the hearing scheduled for April 17, 2001 no-one appeared on behalf of the applicant employer. It appears that the Notice of Hearing was delivered to the parties by fax, and it was received by the Ministry of Labour and the responding party employee. The hearing had previously been scheduled to proceed on March 29, 2001, and was adjourned by Board decision dated April 6, 2001 at the request of the employer, over the objections of the Ministry of Labour. Both the employee and counsel for the Ministry of Labour attended on that earlier date as well as on April 17, 2001.
3The applicant has appealed Order to Pay #58909, issued on June 9, 2000 against the Canadian Office of Human Rights, for unpaid wages, termination pay and vacation pay.
4As the applicant, and as the party seeking to establish that wages, termination pay and vacation pay are not due, the employer clearly has the onus to make out a case on appeal from the order of the Employment Standards Officer. As the employer has failed to attend at the hearing, it has failed to meet that onus by calling any evidence to counter the findings made by the Officer and contained in the Narrative Report attached to the Order to Pay.
5In the absence of any evidence to support a review of the Order to Pay issued by the Employment Standards Officer, the application for review is therefore dismissed.
DISPOSITION
6The Application for Review is dismissed and the Order to Pay is upheld. I hereby order:
(i) that the wages paid to the "Director in trust" in relation to this matter be disbursed as follows:
To be paid to the Employer $ 0.00
To be paid to the Employee $ 2418.80
that the administrative fee as $ 241.88
set out in the Order to Pay be
retained by the Government of
Ontario Consolidated Revenue
Fund
Total amount held by the Director: $ 2660.68
(ii) interest earned on the monies held in trust in this matter is to be paid to the above parties in proportion to the amounts paid out.
"Pamela Chapman"
for the Board