Coquitlam employer ordered to pay $15k after appeal dismissed

The director of a Coquitlam company dealing in gas, water and earthquake safety has been ordered to pay a former worker’s outstanding wages, following a recent Employment Standards Tribunal decision.

Raymond Wood, a director of QMI Manufacturing, Avcom, and Geo Alert, was found personally liable for $12,696 of employee Michael Hanrahan’s wages in February 2023. That decision also ordered Wood to pay $2,500 for violating the Employment Standards Act.

Wood subsequently appealed, contending the decision was made by a delegate who erred in law and failed to observe principles of natural justice.

The appeal was officially dismissed on Dec. 20, with Employment Standards Tribunal representative David B. Stevenson concluding there was “no basis” to overturn the previous decision.

Wood’s appeal argued, in part, that the decision was not adequately established or explained.

“I disagree,” Stevenson wrote.

Wood was “directly responsible” for setting the terms of Hanrahan’s employment and for paying his wages, Stevenson noted. Wood was also made aware of the claim that wages hadn’t been paid, “but beyond acknowledging and agreeing Mr. Hanrahan was owed wages, no concrete steps were ever taken to pay the outstanding wages,” Stevenson wrote.

The previous determination noted that QMI relied on a “false scenario” that Hanrahan agreed to work as an independent contractor, according to Stevenson, who described: “the creation of false payroll documents and the alteration of other records,” which were delivered by QMI to the investigating delegate following a demand for employer records.

Those findings were “more than sufficient” to find that Wood was involved in a contravention of the employment standards act, according to Stevenson.

Stevenson found there was no merit to the appeal.

Wood was found liable for a total of $15,196, plus interest.