Saskatchewan eatery owner pleads guilty to charging employee to work for them

A Saskatchewan eatery has pleaded guilty to making one of its staffers pay the owner in order to keep working.

Guac Mexi Grill in Moose Jaw was investigated for requiring a foreign worker to pay $12,000 between August 2023 and February 2024 to keep their job.

Dyan Jeny Enterprises, operating as the grill, was convicted of charging a foreign worker a fee for employment and has been ordered to pay $7,000 in fines on top of the $12,000 in restitution to the worker.

The province says the worker’s continued employment was a condition as they sought permanent resident status.

It says its immigration and career training branch received a complaint about the employment fee that led to the charges.

The province also says this is the first conviction under foreign worker protection legislation that has since been updated with heftier penalties for violations.

The new legislation raises the penalty to as much as $1.25 million, up from $100,000 in the former act, which was replaced in July 2024 just after the offences happened.

Guac Mexi Grill, an Ontario-headquartered Tex-Mex-styled fast food restaurant, has about 56 locations across Canada, including one listed location in Moose Jaw.

The Canadian Press has contacted the corporate office of Guac Mexi Grill and lawyer for the defendants, but has not received a response.