Director of Labour Standards (Sask.) v. DJB Transportation Services Inc. et al., 2010 SKCA 50

JudgeLane, Smith and Ottenbreit, JJ.A.
CourtCourt of Appeal (Saskatchewan)
Case DateApril 09, 2010
JurisdictionSaskatchewan
Citations2010 SKCA 50;(2010), 350 Sask.R. 217 (CA)

Labour Standards v. DJB Transportation (2010), 350 Sask.R. 217 (CA);

    487 W.A.C. 217

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2010] Sask.R. TBEd. AP.022

DJB Transportation Services Inc. and David Bone and Sherry Bone (Directors) (appellants/respondents) v. The Director of Labour Standards on behalf of Scott Bolen and Randy Zacharias (respondent/appellant)

(1722; 2010 SKCA 50)

Indexed As: Director of Labour Standards (Sask.) v. DJB Transportation Services Inc. et al.

Saskatchewan Court of Appeal

Lane, Smith and Ottenbreit, JJ.A.

April 9, 2010.

Summary:

Employment contracts for two truckers provided for a fixed monthly salary inclusive of all overtime and vacation pay, regardless of the number of hours actually worked. Section 6(2) of the Labour Standards Act required an employer to pay overtime for more than eight hours per day or 40 hours per week. Section 72(1) provided that the mandatory minimum standards of the Act did not apply where the contract provided more "favourable conditions" to the employee. Truckers who worked in excess of eight hours per day and 40 hours per week filed claims for unpaid overtime. The Director of Labour Standards allowed the claims. An adjudicator reversed that decision on the ground that the employment contracts were globally more beneficial to the truckers than the statutory minimum standards under the Act. The Director appealed.

The Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench, in a judgment reported (2009), 327 Sask.R. 274, allowed the appeal and restored the Director's decision. The employer appealed, submitting that (1) the judge erred in finding that "global" or "all-inclusive" employment contracts did not comply with the Act's wage and overtime provisions, (2) if the judge was correct, he erred in assessing what constituted "more favourable conditions" under s. 72 of the Act, and (3) the judge erred in finding that estoppel was not available to the employer.

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

Estoppel - Topic 1394

Estoppel in pais (by conduct) - Circumstances where doctrine not applicable - To defeat statutory obligation or prohibition or to contravene public policy - [See Master and Servant - Topic 8325 ].

Master and Servant - Topic 8325

Employment and labour standards - Enforcement - Where nonstatutory standards exceed statutory standards - Employment contracts for two truckers provided for a fixed monthly salary inclusive of all overtime and vacation pay, regardless of the number of hours actually worked - Section 6(2) of the Labour Standards Act required an employer to pay overtime for more than eight hours per day or 40 hours per week - Section 72(1) provided that the mandatory minimum standards of the Act did not apply where the contract provided more "favourable conditions" to the employee - Truckers who worked in excess of eight hours per day and 40 hours per week filed claims for unpaid overtime - The Director of Labour Standards allowed the claims - An adjudicator reversed that decision on the ground that the employment contracts were globally more beneficial to the truckers than the statutory minimum standards under the Act - The trial judge restored the Director's decision - To the extent that contractual obligations ensured more favourable conditions, the provisions of the Act less favourable did not apply - However, those provisions of the Act more favourable continued to apply - The statutory minimum overtime provisions of the Act were more favourable than the contracts, which provided for "a continuously reducing hourly rate with a floor set at the minimum wage rate so as to cap both regular and overtime at the pre-set monthly salary" - The contracts attempted to do indirectly what they could not do directly - The truckers were not estopped from claiming under the Act - The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal dismissed the employer's appeal - The adjudicator's decision was reviewable on the correctness standard - The adjudicator erred in interpreting s. 72(2), as the contracts could not be more favourable than the statutory minimum where they provided for the payment of wages at a rate less than time and a half - Section 75 (cannot voluntarily waive rights under the Act) precluded the employer from arguing estoppel.

Master and Servant - Topic 8344.2

Employment and labour standards - Jurisdiction and powers of director, tribunal, referees or officers - Judicial review - Standard of review - [See Master and Servant - Topic 8325 ].

Master and Servant - Topic 8544

Employment and labour standards - Liability of employer - Overtime pay - [See Master and Servant - Topic 8325 ].

Cases Noticed:

New Brunswick (Board of Management) v. Dunsmuir, [2008] 1 S.C.R. 190; 372 N.R. 1; 329 N.B.R.(2d) 1; 844 A.P.R. 1; 2008 SCC 9, refd to. [para. 15].

Khosa v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [2009] 1 S.C.R. 339; 385 N.R. 206; 2009 SCC 12, refd to. [para. 15].

Lefebvre v. HOJ Industries Ltd.; Machtinger v. HOJ Industries Ltd., [1992] 1 S.C.R. 986; 136 N.R. 40; 53 O.A.C. 200, refd to. [para. 18].

Machtinger v. HOJ Industries Ltd. - see Lefebvre v. HOJ Industries Ltd.; Machtinger v. HOJ Industries Ltd.

Len v. Woodlawn Regional Park Authority (2000), 192 Sask.R. 1; 2000 SKQB 94, refd to. [para. 19].

Board of Education of Prince Albert School Division No. 3 v. Saskatchewan (Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment) (1991), 101 Sask.R. 266 (Q.B.), refd to. [para. 19].

Regina (City) v. Saskatchewan (Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment) et al. (1991), 89 Sask.R. 211 (Q.B.), refd to. [para. 19].

Regina (City) v. Caxton Printing Ltd. and Central Press, [1977] 3 W.W.R. 410 (Sask. C.A.), refd to. [para. 19].

Cadillac Fairview Corp. et al. v. Saskatoon (City) et al., [2000] 11 W.W.R. 89; 199 Sask.R. 72; 232 W.A.C. 72; 2000 SKCA 84, refd to. [para. 25].

Bull et al. v. Klaptchuk (2005), 262 Sask.R. 229; 347 W.A.C. 229; 2005 SKCA 54, refd to. [para. 25].

Nygard International Partnership Associates v. Michalowski et al., [2007] 1 W.W.R. 218; 208 Man.R.(2d) 159; 383 W.A.C. 159 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 29].

Meyer v. Thyssen Mining Construction of Canada Ltd. (1984), 37 Sask.R. 280 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 30].

Burmeister v. Regina Multicultural Council (1985), 40 Sask.R. 183 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 33].

Busse Farms Ltd. v. Federal Business Development Bank, [1999] 7 W.W.R. 737; 172 Sask.R. 133; 185 W.A.C. 133 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 33].

Sikorski et al. v. Tri-Hospital Patient Transport and Courier Ltd. (1995), 136 Sask.R. 61 (Q.B.), refd to. [para. 38].

626386 Saskatchewan Ltd. v. Stumborg (2004), 247 Sask.R. 304; 2004 SKQB 150, refd to. [para. 38].

Group Medical Services v. Director, Labour Standards Branch (Sask.) (2007), 303 Sask.R. 168; 2007 SKQB 345, refd to. [para. 39].

Baird v. Lawson (1996), 146 Sask.R. 273 (Q.B.), refd to. [para. 39].

Statutes Noticed:

Labour Standards Act, R.S.S. 1978, c. L-1, sect. 6 [para. 10]; sect. 62.3 [para. 9]; sect. 72 [para. 12]; sect. 75 [para. 13].

Counsel:

Larry F. Seiferling, Q.C., for the appellants;

Shannon A.C. Carson, for the respondent.

This appeal was heard on September 16, 2009, before Lane, Smith and Ottenbreit, JJ.A., of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.

On April 9, 2010, Lane, J.A., delivered the following judgment for the Court of Appeal.

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