Worker unjustly fired gets $19K judgment, but a year later, hasn't seen any money
'I was so far behind I feel like I was drowning': Rhonda Honen, 41
A Hamilton woman who was awarded more than $19,000 by a provincial labour board after she was unlawfully fired has been waiting for more than a year to see any of that money.
The situation left her unemployed and falling further and further behind on her bills. She was supporting her three children and her 3-year-old grandchild.
Now, she has another job but says she has to stay with a friend, "basically homeless," while she gets back on her feet.
She did everything right in terms of trying to get justice for herself.... But then she's just left to fend for herself.- NDP leader Andrea Horwath
"I had my place but I got so far behind in my rent when I lost my job and everything," said Rhonda Honen, 41. "Because I was so far behind I feel like I was drowning."
Honen's fight comes amid a renewed push for labour protection reform in Ontario, where part-time and precarious work has left workers vulnerable to insecurity and instability. In Honen's case, even winning a judgment in the system Ontario has for workers to seek recourse hasn't meant she's been able to move on.
No mechanism in place
The way the Ontario Labour Relations Board works, a worker who feels she's been wronged can win a judgment, but there's no mechanism to help her actually get her hands on the money.
Andrea Horwath, MPP for Hamilton Centre and the leader of Ontario's New Democratic Party, said the situation is "absolutely unacceptable."
"This woman has gone through a horrible situation," Horwath said. "She did everything right in terms of trying to get justice for herself through the Ontario labour relations system, who even have agreed with her that the employer owes her the wages. But then she's just left to fend for herself."
'Although action was promised, none was taken'
Honen used to work as a home support worker at Burris Lodge, a residential care facility in central Hamilton. Her job included feeding the residents, giving out medications, doing laundry and cleaning.
She started working there in November 2014 but a few months later, she grew concerned about a coworker she'd heard had a problem with drug use.
He accused her of making up the story and was verbally abusive, according to her complaint to the Ministry of Labour under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
She complained to the home's owner and her manager.
"Although action was promised, none was taken," her complaint states.
Instead of addressing her concerns, the employer tried to cut her shifts. Rumours began to spread that the home was getting new owners, and that everyone would be terminated and re-hired.
But when the termination notices came in July, there were only two – the woman's and another employee who'd complained.
And there was no new owner, just the mother of the man listed as the owner.
'There's no way to get the money unless I go to small claims'
She claims the actions were taken in retaliation for blowing the whistle on her coworker's alleged substance abuse. She was out of work for more than seven months, applying for more than 50 jobs.
And Ontario's Labour Relations Board supported her claim. In a March 2016 decision, the board found Honen was entitled to full back pay to the time she was fired, at 30 weeks of $528 per week.
The board said she was also entitled to interest on that sum, plus an additional four weeks of pay to help find alternative employment, plus $1,500 for mental distress. That all added up to $19,452 for Honen.
But the home was owned by a numbered corporation.
A lawyer working on Honen's behalf made several unsuccessful attempts through the sheriff and the courts to make the corporation pay the judgment. Finally in April, the corporation said it wasn't able to pay it, according to John Bartolomeo, the lawyer Honen is working with at the Worker's Health and Safety Legal Clinic in Toronto.
And so now, Bartolomeo is suing a director of the corporation that fired Honen in small claims court. He filed on her behalf in small claims court last week.
Federal and provincial law allows for directors of corporations to be personally liable for up to six months of unpaid wages for workers. And so Honen's lawyer said he is suing for six months' worth of wages. CBC has been unsuccessful in its efforts to reach the company director.
"That's why people create corporations," Bartolomeo said. "There's no way to get the money unless I go to small claims" court.
'Has no authority to enforce them'
The Ministry of Labour directed questions about enforcement to the labour board, saying outstanding orders "fall outside of the ministry's purview."
Voy Stelmaszynski is a solicitor with the labour board. He said the board has had no communication from the employer during or after the judgment.
"The labour board rules on the violations, liabilities that occur … but does not enforce them and has no authority to enforce them," he said. "The only enforcement mechanism that exists is through the court system or the sheriff's system."
He said Honen is not the first to find herself in the gap after a board decision. The Employment Standards Act gives the board some enforcement capability, but the Ontario Health and Safety Act — which this complaint from Honen came under — does not.
"We're aware of it certainly but you know we're creatures of the legislation that has been given to us," Stelmaszynski said.
Because of the limit on liability, Bartolomeo says he only expects to get a maximum of $15,000.
(The lodge has had a series of issues with the city, including the city shutting the home down last summer. The home was sold to new owners in January.)
'The government can't just leave people to their own devices'
Horwath said the system isn't working to protect vulnerable workers like Honen.
"Once the decision's been made the government can't just leave people to their own devices," Horwath said.
"Basically you're sending the message that we have rules, (but if) people actually take the time to have their rights enforced, then they're left on their own in terms of any kind of settlement."
Honen said while she lives with a friend, she's trying to save some money to regain her footing. She's left with little faith she'll ever see the money she's owed.
"I'm not optimistic – I still have the feeling I'm going to be screwed," she said. "Right now I'm just saving all my paycheques, saving up to get first and last (months' rent) for a place. A place where I can at least take my granddaughter for a weekend."