This Ontario restaurant chain owes over $35K in unpaid wages. Workers, vendors now ask: What can be done?
CBC
Danielle Hudspeth was just a hungry customer eager to fill her stomach when she visited Hogtown Smoke in Hamilton's Stoney Creek area earlier this year.
The 22-year-old left the restaurant with an offer to work as a server later that week, on St. Patrick's Day.
After just one day on the job, Hudspeth said, she didn't return because she didn't receive the compensation she was owed.
She's not alone in her complaints against the business. According to Ontario Ministry of Labour data obtained by CBC Hamilton, Hogtown Smoke has a history of owing employees money.
Hudspeth said ahead of starting work at Hogtown Smoke, she signed forms that included her banking information before completing the busy six- to seven-hour shift.
"I served almost all of the tables that night, six or seven of them," Hudspeth told CBC Hamliton.
However, she said, the front-of-house manager refused to give her any of the tips she earned.
Hudspeth showed CBC Hamilton a text from the manager that reads: "I'm not obligated to give you any money on your first training shift. I thought I would split my tips with you because you did a good job ... but since you're not going to pursue employment, I've also decided that I'm going to keep my money thanks anyway."
That experience turned her off working there. Hudspeth said it's now been months and she hasn't received her earnings from that evening shift.
The barbecue chain had numerous locations across the Greater Toronto Area, but the Stoney Creek location is the only one still open.
CBC News set up an interview with Scott Fraser, who according to his dad, Laird Fraser, is "driving [Hogtown Smoke's] brand/concept with a local marketing company," but Scott didn't show up for the interview or reply to multiple messages.
Laird, the restaurant's treasurer according to his LinkedIn profile, blames the pandemic for financial issues.
He told CBC News in an email Sunday "the Stoney Creek location is fully compliant with the Ontario Employment Standards Act including its section on tips and gratuities." He said "there are no outstanding claims that we have any knowledge of" at that location, and all of its locations, past and present, are their own corporate entities.
However, data from the province shows, in past locations, the company has a history of not paying people before 2020, and it still owes over $35,000 in unpaid wages, vacation pay, termination pay and tips.
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