B.C. court rules employer's email proved overtime entitlement, dismisses counterclaim as bad faith attempt to deter claim
The B.C. Supreme Court has ordered an engineering firm to pay more than $44,000 in unpaid overtime and benefits after finding the employer's record-keeping was “less than accurate” and its attempt to recoup severance payments was made in “bad faith.”
On September 4, 2025, Justice Catherine Murray ruled in favour of Terilyn Brito, an engineer who worked long hours in the field and was terminated without cause in October 2023, in a decision that hinged on a key email from the company's own HR professional.
Brito worked as an engineer for Ecora Engineering & Environmental from February 2021 until her termination, often working 12 to 16 hours a day on job sites. She claimed $46,892 in unpaid wages, RRSP contributions, statutory holiday pay and vacation time.
The case carried particular urgency as Ecora had been sold and assets were set to be distributed September 5, 2025.
Overtime entitlement dispute
At the heart of the case was whether Brito was entitled to overtime pay in 2021 and 2022. Ecora argued she wasn’t entitled to overtime until January 1, 2023, and that she'd been paid in full after signing a November 2023 letter confirming the calculation of 262.62 hours of unpaid overtime.
The court heard testimony from Parviz Karmali, a certified human resources professional who worked in executive management at Ecora from August 2021 to January 2023. Karmali testified that Brito was authorized to work overtime at time-and-a-half for hours between 8 and 12 per day, and double time for anything over 12 hours.
“This overtime was built into the contracts relating to the big projects that Ms. Brito worked on,” Karmali stated in her affidavit.
‘Smoking gun’ email for overtime
The case turned on what the court called a “smoking gun” email. In July 2022, after Brito complained about unpaid overtime, Ecora paid her 90 hours at straight time rather than the time-and-a-half she was entitled to.
Karmali then sent an email to payroll stating: “We did an OT payment for Teri for 90 hours at x1 for some work for TMX. I have spoken with Laws, Dan and Cevat and the payment should have been done at x 1.5. At the next payroll run, please include this additional x .5 to make up for the shortfall.”
Dan Bruton, a senior engineer who had testified Brito wasn't entitled to overtime in 2021 and 2022, was copied on the email and responded “Thanks Parvis.”
Justice Murray found this email proved Brito was entitled to overtime throughout her employment and undermined Bruton's credibility. The court also noted that Karmali testified the company “struggled with cash flow issues” and that “delaying paying employees overtime was one of the strategies the company used to address cash flow problems.”
Signed letter falls short for full pay
Ecora argued that by signing the November 2023 letter agreeing to the calculation of 262.62 hours of unpaid overtime, Brito had settled her claim. But the court disagreed, finding that while Brito agreed to the calculation of hours, the company then paid those hours at straight time rather than at the overtime rate.
“Ms. Brito's concurrence with the calculation of overtime hours does not disentitle her to pursue the payment that she was promised,” Justice Murray wrote.
Beyond the overtime issue, the court found Ecora's record-keeping was “less than accurate.” The company conceded it had underpaid Brito for statutory holidays and vacation days, and the court found additional amounts owing for National Truth and Reconciliation Day in 2021 and for RRSP contributions.
Employer's counterclaim dismissed
In its counterclaim, Ecora alleged Brito wrote inappropriate song lyrics and passed them to clients, seeking repayment of severance. Brito responded that the lyrics were written by drillers at the work site and were about drilling, not her.
The court found “this counterclaim to be meritless and made in bad faith.” Justice Murray added: “In my view it was intended to deter Ms. Brito from pursuing her claim. This is troubling as allegations such as this can be harmful to a professional's reputation.”
The court ordered Ecora to pay Brito $44,713 in unpaid overtime, vacation, statutory holidays and RRSP contributions, plus $3,689 in prejudgment interest and costs. The counterclaim was dismissed, and Ecora was ordered to pay punitive costs.
