Kelowna distillery to pay former employee $60,000 in unpaid wages
A Kelowna distillery failed in its bid to overturn a ruling that would have it pay more than $60,000 to a former employee in unpaid overtime.
Forbidden Spirits appealed the decision last year, but it didn't have enough evidence to convince a labour tribunal it should revisit the order.
The Employment Standards Tribunal said the distillery's new evidence was inadmissible, adding there was no merit to suggestions the law was incorrectly applied for the previous repayment order.
In addition to the underpaid former executive assistant, the East Kelowna distillery is currently closed due to unpaid loans and its property was subject to a court-ordered sale. It may find an agreement with the new owner or find a new location.
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In its effort to appeal the $60,000 employment decision, Forbidden Distillery told the Employment Standards Tribunal it had new evidence to show the employee did not have permission to work the additional hours she did.
The company was given a deadline but asked for an extension because of software issues and the need to search company emails. Whether the records could have convinced the tribunal to overturn the order isn't clear as they should have been submitted during the initial investigation, according to the decision.
Forbidden Distillery was given a "more than fair" opportunity to make their case against the former employee's complaint, and there was no reason the new evidence couldn't have been used then, according to the decision.
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It went on to say the former employee kept track of her own hours and even the company's CEO was aware of the extra time she spent on the job. Three witnesses corroborated her story, adding that multiple employees worked "many hours" they didn't get paid for. Another said the former assistant "probably" worked 60 hours per week.
The company did not dispute the witnesses' evidence nor the former assistant's evidence the CEO knew she was working longer hours.
The former executive assistant was paid a $90,000 salary by the time she was dismissed in 2022. While she wasn't paid an overtime wage, the Employment Standards Tribunal found she should have been paid "straight time" for the time she worked over and above the roughly 43 hours per week in her contract.
Before interest, the distillery was ordered to repay her $60,513 for unpaid wages. It will also pay $1,500 in penalties for breaching provincial employment law.
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