Withholding company property vs. massive backpay owed
[Civil / Criminal Law - Canada (Alberta)]
As of a few hours ago, I have just been fired from my job. I had been owed a very large sum of backpay that my employer never had squared up with myself and the rest of the company. I had enough of being short changed so I made a stand to not work anymore unless he had made a contribution to my back wages. When push came to shove, my employer ultimately refused to pay so I had told him to lay me off or fire me so that I can move on. Enraged by my lack of cooperation, my employer finally fired me.
Now comes the dirty parts… my employer has an enormous file of past employees who have gone through employment and labour divisions in Canada and have all won their case for their lost wages. The only problem is that this employer is very aware of the systems and has found enough loop holes to protect himself and his assets – either by signing them in other people’s names or by keeping them in other countries. He also has multiple registered incorporated companies and assigns different ones for each division i.e. payroll, equipment etc. Problem is that the government cannot repay the won cases because they cannot pinpoint which company he owns is responsible, let alone which ones have assets tied.
Knowing all this, I decided to withhold company property (equipment, intellectual property) in the attempt that my employer will sue me over it so that I can countersuit for my loss wages and go through civil court / small claims instead. Being my only means of leverage, I thought it would be a good way to square off. Having done a bit of research though, it looks like it might constitute theft. I was not concerned about police showing up as I was thinking they would let the courts settle something like this but now I am not so sure… Can anyone let me know if this is something I can be charged with at the moment?
For some back history of how I acquired the property, the company was evicted from its office for failure to pay rent a few months ago and was turned into a work-from-home model. All office equipment was taken out by employees to the respective employees homes. There is no secret as to why or how I have said items, just that I have not returned them yet upon termination.
Anyone who can shed some light on this situation would be greatly appreciated. If I do have to return the property immediately, then my window is closing. What are the likely scenarios to happen if I stay the course and continue withholding? Am I in some kind of right (colour of right)? Also any alternative means to this whole mess?
Thanks for your time.
[Canadian Criminal Code – Theft – for reference ] Criminal Code of Canada - Theft Sections
