The Minimum Wage Act

Transcription

1 The Minimum Wage Act UNEDITED being Chapter 292 of The Revised Statutes of Saskatchewan, 1965 (effective February 7, 1966). NOTE: This consolidation is not official. Amendments have been incorporated for convenience of reference and the original statutes and regulations should be consulted for all purposes of interpretation and application of the law. In order to preserve the integrity of the original statutes and regulations, errors that may have appeared are reproduced in this consolidation.

2 Table of Contents 1 Short title 2 Interpretation 3 Application and extension of Act 4 Minimum Wage Board 5 Duty of board in fixing minimum wage 6 Power to make orders 7 Agreement or order respecting observance of holiday 8 Special licences 9 Investigations 10 Power to enter premises, inspect records and obtain information 11 Employer s register of employees 12 Discrimination by employer prohibited 13 Notice to employee of discharge or lay-off 14 Payment to employee in case of discharge or lay-off 15 More favourable provisions in contract of service or usage to prevail 16 Evasion of certain provisions by employer prohibited 17 Agreements subject to minimum wage 18 Employer not to require return of minimum wage 19 Power to make regulations 20 Signing of orders and regulations 21 Evidence of orders and regulations 22 Limitation of prosecutions 23 Penalties 24 Power of representative of minister to determine amount of minimum wage not page 25 Records of deputy minister 26 Act to prevail 27 Lieutenant Governor authorizes expenditure

3 CHAPTER 292 An Act respecting Minimum Wages, Hours of Employment and Conditions of Labour in Shops, Factories and other Premises Short title 1 This Act may be cited as The Minimum Wage Act. R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.1. Interpretation 2 In this Act: board (a) board means the Minimum Wage Board; class of employment (b) class of employment means: (i) any industry, business, trade or occupation; or (ii) any group of employees in any industry, business, trade or occupation; to which this Act from time to time applies; deputy minister (c) deputy minister means Deputy Minister of Labour; employee (d) employee means: (i) any person employed in a shop, factory or other premises in, from or through which is carried on any industry, business, trade or occupation to which this Act from time to time applies; or (ii) any person within a group of employees to which this Act from time to time applies; and for the purpose of this section person employed in a shop, factory or other premises includes an employee whose duties or part of whose duties are performed outside the shop, factory or other premises of the employer but in connection with the operation of the business of the employer; employer (e) employer means any person, firm or corporation employing one or more employees and includes every agent, manager, representative, contractor, subcontractor or principal and every other person who either: (i) has control or direction of one or more employees; or (ii) is responsible, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, for the payment of wages to or the receipt of wages by, one or more employees; factory hotel (f) factory has the same meaning as in The Factories Act; (g) hotel includes a boarding house or rooming house in which there are more than five beds set apart for the use of boarders or lodgers;

4 4 c. 292 MINIMUM WAGE lay-off (h) lay-off means temporary dispensation by an employer with the services of an employee for a period exceeding six consecutive days; minister (i) minister means the Minister of Labour; other premises (j) other premises means a place: (i) in, from or through which the business of warehousing, draying, carting, transferring or delivering is conducted or carried on; (ii) in which a bowling alley, billiard hall, skating rink, curling rink, dance hall or theatre is conducted or carried on; (iii) in, from or through which is carried on any industry, business, trade or occupation, or in, on or in connection with which is employed any group of employees, to which this Act from time to time applies; rate of wages (k) rate of wages means the basis of calculation of wages; restaurant (l) restaurant means a place in or from which meals or light lunches, or both, are supplied for a consideration and such service is furnished daily to more than five persons; shop (m) shop means a building or portion of a building, booth, stall or place where goods are exposed or offered for sale, or from or through which goods are offered for sale, or in which goods are stored pending sale thereof, and includes: (i) a mail order house, a hotel, a restaurant, a refreshment room, a barber shop, a beauty parlour and a place where the trade or business carried on is that of a tobacconist or news-agent; (ii) not only the part of a building or place where goods are exposed or offered for sale, or from or through which goods are offered for sale, or in which goods are stored pending sale, but also all other parts of the building or place used in connection with the sale or offering for sale of goods or the storage of goods pending sale; and sale means sale by wholesale, retail or auction; wage or wages (n) wage or wages means any compensation for labour or services paid to or retained by, or partly paid to and partly retained by, an employee, whether measured by time, piece, commission or by any other method whatever or by any combination of such methods. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.2; 1960, c.38, s.2; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.2. Application and extension of Act 3(1) This Act applies to the cities of Saskatchewan and to other portions of the province to which its provisions are extended by order of the board made under statutory authority, and the board may with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council make an order further extending its provisions to any other portion of the province.

5 MINIMUM WAGE c (2) Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the board may by order declare that the provisions of this Act shall apply to any industry, business, trade or occupation or any group of employees in any industry, business, trade or occupation. (3) Any order made under this section shall, upon its publication in The Saskatchewan Gazette, have the same force and effect as if incorporated herein. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.3; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.3. Minimum Wage Board 4(1) There shall be a board, called the Minimum Wage Board, to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and consisting of five persons, one of whom shall be appointed chairman and two of whom shall be females. (2) Three members of the board shall constitute a quorum (3). The members of the board shall hold office during pleasure and shall be paid such compensation for their services and expenses as may be determined by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. (4) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint such clerical and other assistants as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.4; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.4. Duty of board in fixing minimum wage 5 In exercising its power under clause (a) or (b) of subsection (1) of section 6 to fix a minimum wage the board shall determine such minimum wage on the basis of either: (a) what the board deems adequate to furnish the necessary cost of living to the employees in the class of employment affected; or (b) what the board deems fair and reasonable having regard to the wages that the board considers to be generally prevailing in the class of employment affected; and the board may, as it deems fit, use either basis in fixing a minimum wage for employees in any class or classes of employment. 1957, c.76, s.1; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.5. Power to make orders 6(1) Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the board may by order: (a) subject to The Factories Act and The Hours of Work Act, determine what employees in any class of employment are full-time employees and fix the minimum wage which shall be paid to full-time employees in any class of employment; (b) determine what employees in any class of employment are part-time employees, fix the minimum wage which shall be paid to part-time employees in any class of employment and limit the number or proportion of employees in any shop, factory or other premises who may be paid as part-time employees; (c) fix the period in any day within which the hours of work of employees in any class of employment shall be confined;

6 6 c. 292 MINIMUM WAGE (d) fix the basis for computation of minimum sums of money to be paid by any employer to his employees or any of them in any class of employment who work on New Year s Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Dominion Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day and Christmas Day, or on any of those days, and to his employees or any of them in any class of employment who do not so work, and require that sums computed in accordance with the order be paid by the employer to the employees affected; provided that any such order may exempt any employer from its application, with respect to employees or any of them in any class of employment, upon such conditions as may be specified in the order; and provided further that when New Year s Day or Christmas Day falls on a Sunday the order shall not apply to that day but shall apply to the Monday following that day; and provided further that when the Monday following Remembrance Day is appointed by proclamation of the Governor General or the Lieutenant Governor as a public holiday the order shall not apply to Remembrance Day but shall apply to the day so appointed; (e) fix the maximum period for which an employer in any class of employment may require or permit an employee to work or to be at his disposal without a meal period intervening and fix the minimum period which an employer in any class of employment may allow an employee for meals; (f) where board, whether full or partial, is furnished by an employer to an employee, fix the maximum price to be charged therefor or the maximum deduction to be made therefor from the wages of the employee by the employer; (g) where living quarters, permanent or temporary, are furnished by an employer to an employee, whether or not such quarters are self-contained and whether or not the employer retains general possession and custody thereof, fix the maximum price to be charged therefor or the maximum deduction to be made therefor from the wages of the employee by the employer; (h) subject to The Factories Act and The Coal Miners Safety and Welfare Act, fix the minimum age at which employees may be employed in any class of employment; (i) require every employer in any class of employment to furnish to each of his employees, at such time or times and in such form and detail as the board may require, a written statement of the earnings and deductions from earnings of the employee; (j) require every employer in any class of employment to provide, repair and launder without charge to his employee any uniform or special article of wearing apparel that the employer requires the employee to wear; (k) require that where an employer grants a rest period to an employee the employee shall be deemed to have worked during the whole of the period. (2) Any money payable to an employee, pursuant to an order made under clause (d) of subsection (1), with respect to any day mentioned in that clause, is in addition to wages payable to the employee under any other Act. (3) The board may exclude any class of employment from the application of an order made under this section.

7 MINIMUM WAGE c (4) Every provision in any order of the board, unless the contrary is specifically provided therein, shall apply to every employee in any shop, factory or other premises with respect to which the order applies, whether the employee is paid on an hourly, daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly or yearly basis, or on a piece-work or other incentive basis, or on a combination of any of the said bases, or on any other basis. (5) Any order of the board may be of general application or may be restricted to shops, factories and other premises in any specified area or areas. (6) Orders made under this section shall be published in the Gazette and shall name a date, at least fourteen days subsequent to the date of publication, on which they shall come into force. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.6; 1956, c.57, s.2; 1959, c.60, s.1; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.6. Agreement or order respecting observance of holiday 7 Notwithstanding clause (d) of subsection (1) of section 6: (a) where a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit of employees of an employer are represented by a trade union for the purpose of bargaining collectively, the employer and the trade union may agree in writing; and (b) where any of the employees of an employer are not so represented and the minister is satisfied that the employer and a majority of those employees desire that an order be made under this clause, the minister may order; that any holiday mentioned in the said clause (d) shall be observed by such employees on a specified working day other than that holiday so mentioned, and in such case the day so specified shall be deemed to be that holiday for the purpose of the said clause (d) and an order made thereunder shall, with respect to such employees, apply to the day so specified instead of that holiday. 1962, c.15, s.2; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.7. Special licences 8 The minister may, on the recommendation of the chairman of the board, issue to any person who is, in the opinion of the board, a handicapped employee, a learner or an apprentice a special licence authorizing the employment of the licensee under such conditions as may be prescribed in the licence. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.7; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.8. Investigations 9 The board may make inquiries and investigations respecting matters and things appertaining to or in any way connected with the subject matter of this Act, and shall for that purpose have all the powers conferred upon commissioners under sections 3 and 4 of The Public Inquiries Act. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.8; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.9. Power to enter premises, inspect records and obtain information 10(1) Any person authorized in writing by the minister may: (a) enter and inspect at all reasonable times by day or night any shop, factory or other premises when he has reasonable cause to believe that any person is employed therein at the time of entry;

8 8 c. 292 MINIMUM WAGE (b) inspect and examine all books, pay rolls and other records of any employer that in any way relate to the wages or hours of labour of any of his employees or the conditions of their employment; (c) take extracts from or make copies of any entry in such books, pay rolls and records; (d) require any employer to make or furnish within a stated period full and correct statements, either orally or in writing, respecting the wages paid to all or any of his employees, and the hours of labour and conditions of their employment, and require that the statements be made on oath or verified by statutory declaration; (e) require any employer to make within a stated period full disclosure, production or delivery of all records, documents, statements, writings, books, papers, extracts therefrom or copies thereof in his possession or control, and to give within a stated period any information, either on oath or verified by statutory declaration, in any way relating to the profit and loss and the production and operating costs of the business carried on by or under the control or direction of the employer; (f) require any employee to make within a stated period full disclosure, production or delivery of all records, documents, statements, writings, books, papers, extracts therefrom or copies thereof in the possession or control of the employee and relating to employees, their wages, hours of labour or conditions of employment, and to give within a stated period any information, either on oath or verified by statutory declaration, in any way relating to the wages, hours of labour or conditions of employment of any employee. (2) A person authorized pursuant to subsection (1) may administer all oaths and take all affidavits and statutory declarations required by him under that subsection. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.9; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.10. Employer s register of employees 11 Every employer shall keep in each shop, factory or other premises a register of the names and addresses, the working hours and the actual earnings of all his employees working therein, and on request by a person authorized in writing by the minister shall produce the register for examination. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.10; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.11. Discrimination by employer prohibited 12 No employer shall discharge or threaten to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against an employee because such employee has testified or is about to testify in an investigation or proceedings relative to the enforcement of this Act. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.11; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.12. Notice to employee of discharge or lay-off 13 Where an employee has been in the service of his employer continuously for three months or more, the employer shall not: (a) discharge the employee, unless for just cause other than shortage of work; or (b) lay off the employee;

9 MINIMUM WAGE c without having given the employee at least one week s written notice of termination of employment or lay-off. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.12; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.13. Payment to employee in case of discharge or lay-off 14(1) Where, pursuant to written notice as required by section 13, an employer discharges or lays off an employee to whom that section applies, he shall pay to the employee, in respect of the period of the notice, the sum earned by the employee during that period or a sum equivalent to the employee s normal wages for one week exclusive of overtime, whichever is the greater. (2) Where an employer, contrary to section 13, discharges or lays off an employee without having given the notice required by that section, he shall pay to the employee, in respect of the week that would constitute the minimum period of notice, a sum equivalent to the employee s normal wages for one week exclusive of overtime. (3) Where the wages of the employee mentioned in subsection (1) or (2), exclusive of payment for overtime, varied from week to week, his normal wages for one week shall, for the purposes of those subsections, be deemed to be the equivalent of his average weekly wage, exclusive of payment for overtime, for the four weeks he worked immediately preceding the date on which notice of termination of employment or of lay-off was given or, where such notice was not given, on which he was discharged or laid off. 1955, c.68, s.2; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.14. More favourable provisions in contract of service or usage to prevail 15 Nothing in section 13 or 14 affects any provision in a contract of service, or any recognized usage, by virtue of which an employee is entitled to more than one week s notice of termination of employment or of lay-off or to more favourable compensation in respect of the period of any such notice than is provided for by section , c.13, s.2; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.15. Evasion of certain provisions by employer prohibited 16 No employer shall discharge, or temporarily dispense provisions with the services of, an employee, or alter the regular working prohibited hours of an employee, for the purpose of evading: (a) compliance with an order made under clause (d) of subsection (1) of section 6; or (b) the effect, in any week in which any such order applies to the employee, of any of the provisions of section 4, 6 or 7 of The Hours of Work Act or of any condition prescribed by the minister under section 6 or 7 of that Act or of any condition prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under section 8 of that Act. 1955, c.68, s.2; 1958, c.13, s.2; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.16. Agreements subject to minimum wage 17 Every agreement by an employee to work for less than the minimum wage fixed by the board with respect to the class of employment in which the employee is engaged shall have effect as if that minimum wage were stipulated for therein. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.13; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.17.

10 10 c. 292 MINIMUM WAGE Employer not to require return of minimum wage 18 No employer shall require an employee to return to him, nor shall he accept from an employee, the whole or any part of any minimum wage that he paid to that employee under this Act or of any order or regulation made thereunder. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.14; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.18. Power to make regulations 19(1) The board may make regulations for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act, which, when published as required by subsection (2), shall have the same force and effect as if incorporated herein. (2) Regulations shall be published in the Gazette and shall name a date, at least fourteen days subsequent to the date of publication, upon which they shall come into force. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.15; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.19. Signing of orders and regulations 20(1) Subject to subsection (2), all orders and regulations made by the board shall be signed by the chairman thereof. (2) In the absence or disability of the chairman, any order or regulation may be signed by any one member and when so signed shall have the like effect as if signed by the chairman. (3) When it appears that a member other than the chairman has acted for and in the place of the chairman, it shall be conclusively presumed that he has so acted in the absence or disability of the chairman. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.16; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.20. Evidence of orders and regulations 21 A copy of any order or regulation made by the board, having endorsed thereon a certificate purporting to be signed by the secretary stating: (a) that the copy is a true copy of the order or regulation; (b).that the order or regulation has been published in the Gazette as required by this Act; and (c) the date on which the order or regulation came into force; shall be received in any court as prima facie evidence of the order or regulation and of the facts stated in the certificate without proof of the appointment or signature of the secretary and without production of the Gazette in which the order or regulation was published. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.17; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.21. Limitation of prosecutions 22 No prosecution shall be commenced for an offence against this Act after the expiration of one year from the date of the commission of the alleged offence. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.18; 1956, c.57, s.3; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.22. Penalties 23(1) Every person who:

11 MINIMUM WAGE c (a) fails to comply with or violates any of the provisions of this Act or of any order or regulation made thereunder; or (b) with intent to deceive, makes any false or misleading statement in any communication, whether in writing or otherwise, to a duly authorized representative of the minister; or (c) interferes with or obstructs a duly authorized representative of the minister in the exercise of any power hereby granted, or fails, upon request, to do anything which such representative is hereby empowered to require him to do; is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $100 for the first offence and in default of payment to imprisonment for not less than ten days nor more than thirty days, and for each subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $200 and in default of payment to imprisonment for not less than thirty days nor more than ninety days. (2) If an employer is convicted of failing to pay to an employee the minimum wage fixed by the board, or any sum to which he is entitled under this Act or an order of the board, or of charging the employee or deducting from his wages any sum in excess of the charge or deduction fixed by the board, the convicting provincial magistrate or justice of the peace shall, in addition to the fine imposed, order the employer to pay to him forthwith: (a) the difference between the sum actually paid and the amount of the minimum wage; or (b) the sum to which the employee is entitled; or (c) an amount equal to the amount of the excess charge or the excess deduction; as the case may be, and the provincial magistrate or justice of the peace shall forthwith upon receipt of the amount ordered to be paid pay the amount to the employee. (3) When making an order under subsection (2), if at the trial it has been made to appear to the provincial magistrate or justice of the peace that the employer has, in the matter of wages, sums, charges or deductions other than those in respect of which the order is being made, paid to the employee concerned wages at a rate lower than the minimum wage fixed by the board, or has failed to pay to the employee concerned any sum that he is entitled to under this Act or an order of the board, or has charged to the employee concerned or deducted from his wages an amount in excess of the charge or deduction fixed by the board, then, notwithstanding section 22, the provincial magistrate or justice of the peace may also order the employer to pay to him forthwith: (a) the difference between the sum actually paid and the amount of the minimum wage; or (b) the sum to which the employee is entitled; or (c) an amount equal to the amount of the excess charge or the excess deduction;

12 12 c. 292 MINIMUM WAGE as the case may be, and the provincial magistrate or justice of the peace shall forthwith upon receipt of the amount ordered to be paid pay the amount to the employee. In addition, the provincial magistrate or justice of the peace may order the employer to pay a reasonable counsel fee not exceeding $100 to the complainant s solicitor. (4) If an employer is convicted of a violation of section 16, the convicting provincial magistrate or justice of the peace shall, in addition to the fine imposed, order the employer to pay to him forthwith the difference between the sum actually paid to the employee and that to which he would have been entitled if the employer had not committed the violation, and the provincial magistrate or justice of the peace shall forthwith upon receipt of the amount ordered to be paid pay the amount to the employee. (5) If the employer fails to pay any money ordered to be paid under subsection (2), (3) or (4), the provincial magistrate or justice of the peace may order that the employer be imprisoned for a further term of not less than thirty days nor more than ninety days. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.19; 1955, c.68, s.3; 1958, c.13, s.3; 1962, c.15, s.3; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.23. Power of representative of minister to determine amount of minimum wage not page 24(1) If a duly authorized representative of the minister finds that an employer has failed to pay an employee the minimum wage fixed by the board, he may determine the difference between the sum actually paid to the employee and that to which the employee is entitled, and if the amount is agreed to in writing by the employer and the employee, the employer shall within two days pay it to the deputy minister, who shall pay it to the employee forthwith upon receipt of it. (2) An employer who pays such amount to the deputy minister as required by subsection (1) shall not be liable to prosecution for failure to pay to the employee concerned the minimum wage fixed by the board. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.20; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.24. Records of deputy minister 25(1) The deputy minister shall keep a record of all money paid to him by employers and paid by him to employees under section 24. (2) Where money heretofore or hereafter received by the deputy minister on behalf of an employee has not been paid to the employee concerned by reason of the fact that the deputy minister has been unable to ascertain the whereabouts of the employee, and the employee does not claim it within a period of two years from the date of receipt thereof by the deputy minister, the money shall, upon the order of the deputy minister, become the property of the Crown and shall be paid into the consolidated fund. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.21; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.25. Act to prevail 26 In case of conflict between this Act or any order made hereunder, and any other Act or any order or regulation made thereunder, the provisions of this Act and of the orders made hereunder supersede the conflicting provisions. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.22; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.26.

13 13 MINIMUM WAGE c. 292 Lieutenant Governor authorizes expenditure 27 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may authorize the expenditure of such of the moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of the Department of Labour as may be required for the administration of this Act. R.S.S. 1953, c.264, s.23; R.S.S. 1965, c.292, s.27.

14 Regina, Saskatchewan Printed by the authority of THE QUEEN S PRINTER