Canadian Employment Law Today

PM40065782 Emplo y ment Law Today Canad ad a ian www.employmentlawtoday.com January 9, 2019 Worker out of time for false timesheets Worker must reimburse employer more than $44,000 after being paid for shifts he fi led timesheets for but didn't really work BY JEFFREY R. SMITH A NEW BRUNSWICK employer is en- titled to more than $44,000 from a former worker who submitted false timesheets for 41 shifts he didn't really work, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal has ruled. Godfrey Mendes worked for Ontario Hydro for 10 years before joining Bruce Power, a business partnership of energy cor- porations headquartered in Tiverton, Ont., as a radiation protection assistant in 2007. e following year, in 2008, Mendes asked a representative of the Power Workers' Union, if any employers were hiring radia- tion protection assistants. He was told that a generating station in Point Lepreau, N.B., was undergoing refurbishment and a sub- contractor on the project, Coor Nuclear Services, was hiring. Mendes contacted the technical and sales manager for Coor and was hired to work at the Point Lepreau gen- erating station starting on Jan. 5, 2009. By the spring of 2009, there were about 100 radiation protection assistants work- ing on the Point Lepreau refurbishment. Mendes kept track of his own time worked, submitting his timesheet to the company to whom Coor subcontracted the work — At- lantic Nuclear. Atlantic Nuclear then billed NB Power, the province's energy provider and overseer. NB Power made the fi nal ap- provals of timesheets for radiation protec- Good news and bad news Reversal of previous Ontario government's employment standards changes brings reprieve for employers, disenchantment for employees? BY JOEL SMITH THE ONTARIO government's recent passing of Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018, has off ered a regulatory reprieve for Ontario businesses still reeling from the earlier, transforma- tive package of labour and employment law changes introduced with Bill 148, e Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017. e latter was, of course, the previous Ontario Liberal government's attempt to level the labour playing fi eld by moderniz- ing the province's Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA). It was roundly criticized by many in the business community who ar- gued that the changes went too far, too fast and compromised their ability to compete. Since then, the controversial Pay Transpar- ency Act has also been indefi nitely shelved — the legislation would have required larger employers to publicize gender-based compensation gaps, required all employers to include salary ranges in public job post- Class dismissed for school board accountant pg. 3 School board had just cause to dismiss worker; professional status exempt from OT Dismissal of whistleblower upheld after ultimatum pg. 4 Employer showed gratitude for revealing fi nancial mismanagement ROLLBACKS on page 6 » REVIEW on page 7 » CREDIT: ROY HARRIS/SHUTTERSTOCK with Stuart Rudner Ask the Expert pg. 2 Accommodating with little effort from employee

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