Employers who fail to compensate employees will now face public scrutiny as a result of a new online database.
The employment standards judgments listing, created by the government of Alberta, displays roughly 3,500 claims against 1,700 employers, with a total value of more than $14 million in unpaid earnings.
“We’re trying to foster a different kind of a culture within employers,” said Jay Fisher, spokesperson for Alberta Human Services. “We’re looking for a culture of compliance … where employers basically are following the rules without having to be urged to do so.”
There are 47 claims reported against 23 St. Albert businesses for a total of nearly $150,000 in unpaid earnings.
Of the largest offenders are Home Pro’s Verified Inc. with $54,599 in claims, Haweli Restaurant with $42,402 in claims and Harpe Foundations & Flatwork Ltd. with $8,973 in claims.
Fisher said some of the claims are as old as 10 years, so some businesses are no longer in operation while others could be operating under new ownership.
Home Pro’s Verified Inc. is no longer located at the Inglewood Square address listed on the website.
Haweli Restaurant changed ownership last fall, according to Remeash Bhandary, manager at the St. Albert location.
“[The owners] sold both the [businesses] – this one and the downtown Haweli – to the New Asian Village, so this is under the New Asian Village,” he said. “I don’t know about the previous owners.”
Fisher could not provide dates for when the claims originated, citing privacy rules.
Harpe Foundations and Flatwork owner Bert Harpe did not return phone calls from the St. Albert Gazette and no physical address could be determined.
“It’s a pretty strong encouragement for employers to pay up and follow the rules properly and pay people what they are owed,” Fisher said.
He said Albertans looking for employment should consult the website to see if the company they are seeking employment with has a claim against them.
“Some of the employers on there have quite a few claims, so it might be an eye-opener for someone,” he said.
Before a claim is posted online, employment standards officers investigate the claim and order employers to compensate the employee. Employers wishing to have their name removed from the database can pay the outstanding earnings.
Fisher said employers who end up on the judgment listing have either failed to utilize the appeals process or have lost the appeals process.
There are no additional legislative steps available once the investigation is conducted, although many businesses or owners have liens put against their property, forcing them to satisfy the lien before a sale can be finalized.
An online complaint registration system was introduced in 2010-11 and saw 6,491 registered claims that year, with 7,818 the following year. More than 70 per cent of claims are filed through this system.
Last year, more than $5.7 million in unpaid earnings was collected from employers, which represents roughly 80 per cent of the claims made.
To view the listing, visit www.employment.alberta.ca/sfw/esjudgments.asp.
