[Bewytch]

My husband quit a job after 4 days because of a hostile work environment. His boss yelled and swore at employees, berating them in front of others by calling them stupid and asking one driver "where did he get his (explicit) license from?" My husband heard from other employees that most people quit shortly after being hired, and once an employee had been fired and left on the side of the road to find his own way home by the boss. (At the time, my husband was working in BC and we live in Ontario). One employee told my husband that he had driven for 22 hours straight while working. My husband observed the boss sending someone ahead on highways to confirm that weigh scales were closed before driving past them with company trucks. My husband worked until 2:30 am one night and had to be up at 6:30 am to head back out to work. The job was road maintenance and involved melting tar to fill in cracks in the highways - the boss would not allow the drivers to slow down or stop when the tar had to be added to the vats, so that the melted tar could splash up at the individual adding it. My husband wouldn't add the tar while the vehicles were moving. My husband said to the other employees that the boss was not allowed to talk to them the way that he did, but several of them did not speak very good english and all of them were desperate for work, so they didn't stand up for themselves. My husband overheard the boss tell someone else that the employees "would be in for a surprise when they got their paycheques".

The work was hot, hard and long, but it was the negative environment that had my husband calling it quits. He was intimidated by the boss, and sent him an email advising him that he could no longer work for him and then caught a flight home out of his own pocket.

The issue that has come up is two-fold. While working in BC, my husband was driving a company vehicle and lightly backed into another vehicle in a parking lot. He looked for damage on the other vehicle with the other employees that were with him and saw none. I know that he should have reported this to his boss and left information with the vehicle regardless of there being no damage, but he was rattled by the boss and afraid to approach him. The boss's son advised him not to worry about it, as there was no damage.

After he returned home, we never heard from the boss and my husband never received a paycheque. After a few weeks with no cheque arriving, I sent an email from my husband's account (my husband would have preferred to leave it all alone, he just wanted to be done with the guy and never have to deal with him again) asking when the expected paycheque would arrive. I received no answer.

I then sent an inquiry to the Ministry of Labour asking if the boss could legally refuse to pay for the hours that my husband worked. They suggested that my husband file a claim with them. I sent another email to the boss advising that I had spoken to the Ministry of Labour re: employee rights but that I had not filed a claim with them and that I hoped to hear a response from him to settle the issue of the missing paycheque. I received an email response within the hour stating that the cheque was in the mail.

That email was yesterday. Today I recevied another email about the hit and run - the comments being along the lines of "What about that hit and run? You did run, didn't you? What about the rights of people to park in parking lots?"

The tone was very sarcastic because I had mentioned employee rights in the last email. But I am now concerned that he might make an issue of the hit and run in Alberta. I know that my husband was in the wrong, but considering that there was no damage, what can this boss now do? He is a huge creep, and I am worried that he will try to cause problems for us because my husband quit on him without notice and because I sent that email mentioning the Ministry of Labour. Obviously, his real concern is not the rights of the "people in parking lots". Is there any steps that we should take (ie. Reporting the accident to the police) right now? I have no idea who's vehicle it was. I have not responded to this most recent email, as the cheque is "in the mail" and I don't really want further contact with this guy. But I think that he is used to people backing down from him because he is intimidating.

If my husband has to pay a fine, that is one thing. But if we are going to get into it with this guy, should we pursue the Ministry of Labour about the Occupational Health and Safety issues as well as the verbal abuse? Any advice would be appreciated.

[JudyKayTee]

I find this almost too lengthy to read/understand and much of it makes no difference legally.

Yes, your husband was (apparently) guilty of hit and run. If he (and you are not a party) wants to avoid being blackmailed (in theory) by his employer then your husband needs to inform the Police of the incident. Maybe they'll take a report, maybe they won't - but it will take that bit of "ammunition" away from the employer. It's also the right thing to do. My car was also "lightly" hit by another driver in a parking lot, that driver ran and I have a strong opinion on the whole hit and run issue - apparently the driver who hit me didn't think the damage was worth reporting, either. He was wrong.

I would do nothing until the check either does or doesn't arrive. The question is going to be why your husband is reporting the unsafe conditions now and not at the time they occurred. Saying (particularly in writing) "If you don't do this I am going to do that" is a mistake and could be perceived as blackmail.

And, again, I realize this is your husband but it is his argument, not yours, and you have no legal standing.

Sometimes you have to get your paycheck and just walk away because it will take you a lot of time and effort to prove a point.

Sorry to be harsh but that's how I see this. It sounds like you have a fair amount of animosity toward the employer and that very well may be how your complaint is interpreted.

[Bewytch]

No need to apologize about harshness, I did not find your answer harsh. And sorry about being lengthy - bad habit.

I do see your point about saying "If you don't do this I am going to do that", but I didn't mention anything about reporting the health and safety issues in the email to him. I only mentioned that I spoke to the Ministry of Labour about employee rights in terms of getting paid and that they suggested filing a claim and that was after he didn't respond to the first email.

You're right that I do feel animosity towards this man and I am sure that it comes across. My husband didn't even want to pursue the missing paycheque, he just wanted to cut his losses and be done with the guy. I guess I am overstepping boundaries by sticking my nose in it.

I appreciate your input and perspective.

[JudyKayTee]

You're not overstepping your boundaries at all as far as being angry is concerned. You are if you are contacting the employer only because the legal system might see it that way.

Employers who are unfair are simply so difficult to deal with - because they control the paychecks.

Please let us know how this works out.

[twinkiedooter]

Had this employer been in the USA he would be in a lot of trouble running his company the way he does. Making the drivers drive with no sleep and no rests is illegal here in the USA. Those working conditions are horrendous. I would take the time to figure out just WHO to turn this monster in to and have this person legally punished for such working conditions. Anyone operating heavy duty machinery and having to "sneak" past weigh stations is illegal here in the USA. It should be illegal in Canada as well. That company needs investigated heavily, heavily fined, and put out of business (if possible). Maybe you can be the one to get the ball rolling up there in Canada. No man deserves to be yelled at and treated this way when all they want to do is do an honest day's work.

[Bewytch]

Twinkie - All of those things that you mentioned are also illegal in Canada.

This guy advised he had put a cheque in the mail before Friday August 13th and it should arrive within 2-3 days. We still have not received anything almost 2 weeks later. I am not expecting anything from him at this point, I think that he is just playing with us and giving us the run around. I haven't tried to contact him again. I'm not even sure that my husband could reliably remember what hours he is owed at this point, since they weren't documenting it out West. I believe that it would have been somewhere around $500-$600 that he is owed, but I couldn't say for sure. Also, the Ministry of Labour advised that if we pursued the working conditions issue, we would have to go through the BC WorkSafe, since it happened out there and not in Ontario (where we are).

Also, he has officially intimidated me as well. I don't know if he would be able to report the accident now and if he could prove it happened, but the threat is there and a fine would be one thing, but if my husband ended up with a suspended license or something that would hurt us too much financially as he commutes a half hour to work and drives at work as well. So he has that over us, and we can't afford to take the chance on it. Looks like we're out a few hundred dollars and he gets away with it. I feel terrible for the guys still working for him.

[ScottGem]

This guy contracts to the government. Its not like he does this for a private company. Any government is very sensitive about this sort of thing. I would send an anonymous letter to the Dept of Transportation that is responsible for the roads he works on and report it.