A Leamington temp agency and its owner will have to pay some large fines for not paying hundreds of workers what they're owed.
An Employment Standards Officer with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills investigated the numbered company located on Margaret Street in early 2023 after complaints.
The investigation revealed that the company violated the Employment Standards Act. A subsequent audit discovered workers were owed wages, including regular wages, public holiday pay, and vacation pay. The total owed was $234,212.
The officer issued an Order to Pay, but the company ignored it and didn't apply for a review to the Ontario Labour Relations Board within the required time. That led to a Director's Order to Pay wages against the company's director, Son-Van Duong.
Again, the company ignored the order.
As a result, an ex parte trial in Windsor Provincial Offences Court convicted both the company and the director this past April. The company was fined $100,000, and Duong was fined $50,000.
The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, which will go to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
