Difference between revisions of "Employment Law Issues (9:V)"

Apart from ESA entitlements, an employee who was hired as a result of false representations could potentially sue for the tort of misrepresentation.  For more information about this tort, see ''Queen v Cognos Inc'', [1993] 1 SCR 87.

An employment agency is any person or company that recruits employees for employers for a fee.  All employment agencies must be licensed and they must keep records.  An employment agency may not receive any payment from a person seeking employment either for obtaining employment or for providing information respecting prospective employers.  Any payment wrongfully received can be recovered under the ESA, s 11.

A number of the more recent amendments to the ESA deal with talent agencies and impose minimum standards on what was previously an unregulated industry.  A talent agency must be licensed annually under the Act.  Once an agency is licensed, it may receive wages on behalf of clients who have done work in the film or television industry.  Section 38.1 of the ES Regulation provides that wages received by a talent agency from an employer must be paid to the employee within a prescribed period: five business days from receipt of payment if payment is made within B.C. and twelve business days from receipt of payment if payment is made from outside B.C.

Talent agencies can charge a maximum 15 percent commission, and must ensure that the employee receives at least minimum wage after this deduction.  The only other fee a talent agency may charge is for photography, and this charge must not exceed $25.00 per year.  This fee may only be deducted from wages owed to the employee.  When a talent agency is named in a determination or order, unpaid wages constitute a lien against the real and personal property of the agency.  A 1999 amendment to section 127 of the Act gives the Lieutenant Governor in Council the power to regulate these agencies and, accordingly, the ES Regulation should be consulted for further information.  A list of talent agencies currently licensed in B.C. is available at http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/employment-standards-advice/employment-standards/specific-industries/talent-agencies.  

Employing a child is an offence for which both the employee and the employer are liable.  The ESA does not apply to certain types of employment such as babysitters and some students (''ES Regulation'', s 32).   

If an employer is accused of illegally using child employment they will carry the onus in proving that it was either justified, or that the child was of legal age.  

==== Minimum Wage and the Entry Level Wage ====