The Employment Standards Tribunal has ordered a new hearing after learning that four employees failed to disclose a settlement agreement in a hearing before the Employment Standards Branch.
The employer, an auto repair shop, paid settlements to four ex-employees on the condition that the employees inform the Employment Standards Branch that their disputes had been settled. Instead, the employees appeared at the hearing to pursue their claims. Assuming the hearing had been cancelled, the employer did not attend.
The employees did not inform the Branch adjudicator of the previous settlement. After hearing the complaints, the adjudicator ordered the employer to pay more than $50,000 to the four employees and to a fifth employee who had filed a related claim.
When the employer learned of the decision, it appealed to the Employment Standards Tribunal. The Tribunal agreed that the settlement agreement should have been placed before the Branch and ordered the Branch adjudicator to reconsider its decision in light of the settlements.
Autotek Collision Repair (Downtown) Ltd., BCEST #D137/04, August 4, 2004