Alberta companies owe $1.98 million in backpay for 2023

Over 100 employers in Alberta received Employment Standards judgements registered against them in 2023, and a huge bulk of them violated rules around pay, according to a report.

Overall, Alberta issued 252 judgements on 131 companies last year, and they owed workers nearly $1.8 million.

The following are the companies with the largest total amounts in unpaid judgements, and the amount they owe workers, according to journalist Kim Siever of Alberta Worker:

1. Bitumen Universal Loading Corp. - $214,378.00
2. Mcloud Technologies (Canada) Inc. - $175,199.50
3. Fekete Integrated Reservoir Management & Analytics Corporation - $143,000.00
4. Tveon Inc. - $130,244.10
5. Corey Lance Welch - $115,656.64
6. Turnip Home Inc. - $81,875.57
7. 1415038 Alberta Inc. - $70,150.36
8. Casamia CA Limited - $63,750.00
9. 2266125 Alberta Ltd. - $45,203.10
10. Trades Plus Quantum Inc. - $42,864.09

Earlier this year, more than 200 workers sued Alberta Health Services (AHS), accusing the employer of violations under the Employee Standards Code relating to overtime, breaks and work shifts. The group is seeking $125 million in damages, claiming that the employer has been overworking and underpaying them since 2013.

Multiple ESA judgements against employers

Meanwhile, among Alberta employers with multiple judgements received in 2023, Mcloud Technologies (Canada) Inc. topped the list with a total of 32. That’s twice the number of judgements for Casamia CA Limited (owing a total of $63,750.00) at 16. 

2303605 Alberta Inc. (owing $13,975.05) came in third with 10 judgements.

The full list of unsatisfied judgements is available here.

Despite the total number of judgements, the number of violating employers could be even more, Siever noted.

“Remember, this is just for companies who had Employment Standards judgements registered against them. Not all companies who don’t pay their workers enough will be reported to Employment Standards, let alone end up on the registry,” he said.

“Also keep in mind that it’s possible for employers to be removed from the registry if they comply with the judgment and pay it in full, so it’s possible that there were even more employers that had made it into the registry in 2023 at some point.”

Earlier this year, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) completed its settlement of the $153-million class action filed against it by those who worked for the employer between 1993 and 2009. CIBC was expected to pay roughly 30,000 workers to cover unpaid overtime, legal fees and the cost of the money’s distribution.