The Ministry of Labour has posted its latest list of Bad Employers, businesses that have failed to comply with the minimum standards in the Employment Standards 
Act, and failed to comply with an order to pay. This is not a list of all employers who have violated the ESA during a month, since only a small percentage of offenders are actually prosecuted under the Provincial Offences Act. The employers on this list have caught the attention of prosecutors, often for their stubborn refusal to comply with orders once found in violation. Here is the archived list of past months’ Bad Employers.
For employers that do not want to find themselves on this list, learn the laws and comply with that. If you don’t understand the rules, talk to an employment lawyer, or spend some time reading the very helpful materials available on the Ministry of Labour’s website.
Each month, a new list comes out, albeit with a lag of several months. Here is the list of prosecutions of Bad Employers for October 2011. As always, most (not all) of these law-breaking employers are in the retail and food services industries. It is notable too that most prosecutions are targeting employers in and around the Greater Toronto Area. Newmarket in particular is consistently represented highly on the lists. I can only presume that has something to do with the manner in which the Newmarket region of the prosecutor’s office operates, rather than that Newmarket has a disproportionate amount of Bad Employers.
Some low-lights. Do you recognize any of these law-breakers?:
North and East of Toronto
The Big Apple in Cobourg, (overtime pay)
Unionville Arms Pub (overtime pay)
Sunrise Cafe & Grill (improperly withholding wages)
Il Postino Restaurante (holiday pay)
Markville Ford Lincoln Ltd (overtime pay)
Christies Clothing (overtime pay)
Newcastle Golf Course (holiday pay)
Toronto Area
Omonia Restaurant (holiday pay)
Mr. Greek Meat Market (wage statements)
Fox & Fiddle Pub (Minimum wage)
Ten0ichi Japanese Restaurant (no records, holiday pay)
Babur Restaurant (wage statements)
White Shark Ltd (records, withholding wages)
The Auld Spot Pub (records)
Jacob Anthony Salon (holiday pay)