Publication

Legal Update: Feds Crack Down On Employer Abuse Of Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Published:

April 3, 2014

Author(s):

Meghan Felt

On March 28, 2014 the Federal Government tabled Bill C-31 to implement the 2014 Federal Budget – including broad authority to impose cash penalties on employers that don’t comply with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Employers with temporary foreign workers currently or prospectively on the payroll must stay on top of, and comply with, the current – and constantly changing – Program requirements, or risk the growing consequences.

Penalties. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations impose large fines on employers who hire foreign workers without proper documentation – but Bill C-31 is the first legislation that would (if it becomes law) authorize the Ministers of Employment and Social Development and for Multiculturalism to impose penalties for specific Program abuses. The Federal Government has not yet announced the specific monetary fines or what fine will attach to what contravention, but indications are that the more severe the contravention, the steeper the penalty – and some will be steep. The Government has announced that the conduct for which the Department could fine an employer includes:

Issuing false or misleading declarations on Labour Market Opinion applications forms
Hiring a foreign worker under false pretences
Hiring a foreign worker when it should have hired a Canadian or Permanent Resident
Firing a Canadian or Permanent Resident then subsequently hired a foreign worker for the same position
Paying a foreign worker less than the prevailing wage rate for the particular occupation in the particular region

Non-Payment. If an employer doesn’t pay an imposed fine, it could face legal proceedings and/or have its case referred to Canada Revenue Agency for prosecution if the employer was paying the worker in a way that evaded taxes.

Key Dates. If Bill C-31 becomes law, the Federal Government will likely finalize the specific fines in the next few months and the changes will likely become effective in early 2015.

More to Come. The Federal Government rolled out a number of changes to the Program over the past year, many in Spring 2013, and indicated more would come. Bill C-31 won’t likely be the last one – and employers will need to keep on top of these fast-paced changes or risk the new penalties.

Click here to read Bill C-31.

Click here to read McInnes Cooper’s February 11, 2014, Legal Alert: Economic Action Plan 2014 – The Road To Balance: Creating Jobs And Opportunities.

Please contact your McInnes Cooper lawyer or any member of our McInnes Cooper Immigration Law Team to discuss this topic or any other legal issue.

McInnes Cooper has prepared this document for information only; it is not intended to be legal advice. You should consult McInnes Cooper about your unique circumstances before acting on this information. McInnes Cooper excludes all liability for anything contained in this document and any use you make of it.

© McInnes Cooper, 2014. All rights reserved. McInnes Cooper owns the copyright in this document. You may reproduce and distribute this document in its entirety as long as you do not alter the form or the content and you give McInnes Cooper credit for it. You must obtain McInnes Cooper’s consent for any other form of reproduction or distribution. Email us at [email protected] to request our consent.

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Legal Update: Feds Crack Down On Employer Abuse Of Temporary Foreign Worker Program

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