Worker claimed higher wage rate, more hours, but couldn’t refute employer’s records
A worker wasn’t able to prove that an employer owed him unpaid wages for additional hours and a higher wage rate that disagreed with the employer’s records, the Manitoba Labour Board has ruled.
The worker was hired in August 2022 by Sterling O and G International Corp., a Winnipeg-based developer. His first day was on or around Aug. 24.
According to the worker, he was supposed to be paid $30 per hour, but Sterling disputed this, contending that he was offered $20 per hour. The company also maintained that the worker wasn’t qualified and needed training, for which he would be paid $20 per hour.
The worker was trained for three days over the period between Aug. 24 and 30, with payroll records tracking his total hours worked as 16.5. Each day, the company’s owner picked the worker up at his home and drove him to the work location, although once he had to wait for 30 minutes before the worker came out.
Employment discontinued after training
At the end of the training, the company determined that the worker wasn’t a safe or competent truck driver and decided not to employ him any longer. On Aug. 31, the worker emailed Sterling asking that he be paid his wages of 20 hours at $30 per hour. The company responded that his training hours were 16.5 and his wage “was never $30 per hour.”
A few days later, the worker provided a copy of his driver’s licence to facilitate payment, but he didn’t dispute the company’s position on his hours and wage rate.
Over the next few days, the company tried to get more information from the worker for payroll purposes. Eventually, in January 2023, the company sent the worker a cheque representing 16.5 hours worked at $20 per hour, with statutory deductions.
The worker filed an employment standards complaint claiming additional unpaid wages, overtime pay, and vacation pay. He claimed that he worked 12-to-16-hour days with Sterling, including the driving time after the company picked him up and drove him home. He also claimed that he worked an additional two days of 12 hours each than for what he was paid.
No unpaid wages
On May 31, an employment standards officer found no further wages were owed to the worker and dismissed the worker’s claim. The worker appealed to the Director of the Manitoba Employment Standards Branch, which referred the matter to the Manitoba Labour Board.
The board noted that the province’s Employment Standards Code requires that employees are to be paid for all hours worked, and where there is a dispute, the best evidence available as to the contract and services must be considered.
The board noted that the email communications between the worker and the company indicated that the company’s records showed that the worker put in 16.5 hours and was paid $20 per hour. This was consistent with the bookkeeper’s records and the worker didn’t dispute it at the time, said the board, noting that the only reference to $30 per hour was when the worker emailed about payment.
With no evidence supporting the worker’s position regarding his hours worked and wage rate combined with the email evidence and the company’s records, the board found that the worker didn’t meet the onus of proving that wages were owed to him. The worker’s appeal was dismissed. See Sterling O and G International Corporation v. J.M., 2024 CanLII 36440.
