Canadian Payroll Reporter - sample

4 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2016 Feds continue to work on Phoenix payroll backlog › OTTAWA — The federal government says it is still working towards clearing a backlog of pay problems associated with its new Phoenix pay- roll system by the end of October. Deputy Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada Marie Lemay said the federal government still owes about 74,000 federal civil servants outstanding pay. To help resolve the pay issues, the department has hired more pay staff and opened temporary pay units in Gatineau, Montreal, Shawinigan and Winnipeg. It has also set up a national call centre in Toronto to help handle calls from employees reporting pay issues. To work through the pay issues, the department has divided employees into three priority groups. The first priority is employees who have not been receiving any pay. This includes new hires and students, as well as employees returning to work from unpaid leaves of absence. The second group consists of employees whose pay was affected by going on leave or by termination of employment. This includes workers experiencing pay problems related to maternity or parental leave payments, long-term disability payments, severance pay or requests for Records of Employment. The third group, which is the largest, consists of employees receiving regular pay, but missing supplementary payments, such as extra duty pay and pay related to promotions or salary increases. Lemay said the department is looking to late October to resolve all cases in the third priority group that were backlogged with its pay centre in Miramichi, N.B., before June. "We remain committed to resolving the backlog by October 31. With the resources we are adding to our pay units, we believe this goal is achievable, but a lot depends on the pace at which (new) compensation advisors join us, how quickly they get up to speed and the complexity of each case, which we don't know until we examine an employee's specific file," she said. The Phoenix pay system replaced the government's previous payroll system earlier this year. The prior system was more than 40 years old. Court jails employer for not paying wages › NEWMARKET, ONT. — An Ontario court re- cently sentenced an employer to one day in jail for failing to comply with an order to pay wages. asdfIn August, Justice of the Peace Cornelia Mews of the Ontario Court of Justice sent Brian John Villeneuve to jail for a day and banned him from starting a business that employs workers for one year. Villeneuve operated an embroidery business that supplied sports paraphernalia. The ordinate Employment Insurance benefits with the new leave and to increase the amount payable. If the federal government does not agree to this, the report suggests the provincial government explore other options for funding leaves, such as through a provincial insurance benefit plan or a registered leave savings plan, which would be similar to a registered education savings plan. Ontario court approves BMO Nesbitt Burns overtime settlement › TORONTO — An Ontario Superior Court judge recently approved a $12-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against investment firm BMO Nesbitt Burns for unpaid overtime. The parties in the lawsuit reached a settlement agreement in January, with the court approving it in late July. An appeal period for the case ended in late August, making the settlement final for the 1,800 members of the class action. The lawsuit, Yagel Rosen v. BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., alleged that the company failed to pay certain investment advisors (IAs) overtime pay over a period of 14 years, beginning in 2002. It was BMO Nesbitt Burns' position that the IAs were exempt from the overtime pay requirements in Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000. Under the agreement, class members will not have to prove any overtime hours to establish their entitlement to overtime pay under the settlement. Average weekly earnings up slightly in June: StatsCan › OTTAWA — Average weekly earnings of non- farm payroll employees were $958 in June, up slightly from $954.03 in May, Statistics Canada reports. Statistics Canada revised the May numbers from the previously reported $956. On a year-over-year basis, weekly earnings increased 0.5 per cent in June. The increase in weekly earnings during the 12 months to June reflected a number of factors, including wage growth, changes in the composition of employment by industry, occupation and level of job experience, as well as average hours worked per week. Non-farm payroll employees worked an average of 33 hours a week in June, up from 32.9 hours reported for May. Year-over-year earnings of non-farm payroll employees increased in June in New Brunswick, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia and Quebec. They declined in Alberta. Earnings were little changed in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. News in Brief A look at news, facts and figures shaping the world of payroll professionals province's Ministry of Labour received claims from seven employees for unpaid wages and termination pay. An employment standards officer investigated the claims and found that the employees were owed a total of $31,271.67. The officer issued seven orders to pay, but the ministry says Villeneuve did not fully pay them. After a trial, the court convicted Villeneuve of seven counts of failing to comply with the ministry's orders. In addition to the jail term and one-year probation order, the court ordered Villeneuve to pay the wages owing to the employees. Individuals found guilty of contravening the Employment Standards Act, 2000 or its regulations or for failing to comply with an order under the Act may be fined up to $50,000 or imprisoned for up to 12 months or both. A corporation can be fined up to $100,000 for a first conviction, $250,000 for a second one and $500,000 for subsequent convictions. Committee recommends ways to close gender wage gap in Ontario › TORONTO — A committee studying a gender wage gap in Ontario is recommending that the provincial government combine pregnancy and parental leave provisions in its employment standards law to create a new shared parental leave. The government set up the Gender Wage Gap Steering Committee last year to study and recommend ways to address the disparity that exists between men's and women's wages in the province. Using Statistics Canada data, the government says the wage gap ranges from 14 per cent to 26 per cent, with the gap more pronounced for Indigenous and racialized women and those with disabilities. The committee held consultations across Ontario between October 2015 and February 2016 and released its final report in late August. In the report, the committee makes 20 recommendations, including calling for a new job-protected Parental Shared Leave to replace the current pregnancy and parental leaves allowed under the Employment Standards Act, 2000. The report says that while parental leave in Ontario is available for both men and women, statistics show women are more likely to take it. To encourage both parents to take time off, the report recommends the new leave have designated pregnancy, first parent and second parent allocations. In addition, the report says the leave should reserve time specifically for each parent to take it on a "use it or lose it" basis. It also recommends the leave have options for flexible use to ease parents back into the workforce. To encourage both parents to use the new leave, the report recommends the provincial government ask the federal government to co-

• Cover