How can I make the board's decision actually stick if my employer refuses to pay?

The situation

I am currently working in a federally regulated sector here in Canada and I have been dealing with a massive headache regarding my unpaid wages. My employer has refused to pay me a final pay cheque amounting to $3,450 for overtime labour I performed during the month of October. After several weeks of arguing with my manager, I finally took the matter to the Board. On November 15th, the Board issued a formal order stating that my employer must pay me the full amount owed. However, the order also specified that the company has until December 1st to comply with the payment. It is now December 10th, and despite my repeated emails and polite phone calls, the company has completely ignored the order and refuses to send the money. I have already tried to remind them of the Board's decision, but they are just being stubborn and acting like the order doesn't matter. I am feeling quite desperate because I need that money for my rent. I know the Board ruled in my favour, but since they aren't listening, I am unsure what the next step is to turn that order into something that has the same power as a real court judgment so I can actually force them to pay me.

Detailed Analysis

Since your employer has ignored the December 1st deadline for the $3,450 payment, you can move to the enforcement stage. Under the Canada Labour Code, you have the right to take the Board's decision to the Federal Court to make it much harder for your employer to ignore.

According to the law, you may "file in the Federal Court a copy of the order, exclusive of reasons"^[1]. This means you take the document that says you are owed the money (but leave out the long explanation of why the Board made the decision) and submit it to the Federal Court. Because your employer was given until December 1st to comply, you are now past the required waiting period. The law allows you to do this "after 14 days from the day on which the order is made, or from the day provided in the order for compliance, whichever is later"^[1]. Since December 1st was the compliance date, you are eligible to proceed.

Once you file this paperwork, the order undergoes a process called registration. The law states that "On filing in the Federal Court... an order of the Board shall be registered in the Court and, when registered, has the same force and effect, and all proceedings may be taken in respect of it, as if the order were a judgment obtained in that Court"^[1]. A judgment is a formal decision by a court that settles a dispute and can be used to seize assets or garnish wages to pay a debt. By registering the order, you are essentially upgrading the Board's decision into a powerful court tool that allows you to use all the standard legal methods to force the company to pay you.

It is important to note that while this process turns the order into a judgment, the Federal Court does not automatically send you the money; you must use the registered order to initiate collection proceedings.

Statutory Citations

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