Swann Law

An Ontario blockchain business must pay two of its employees approximately $120,000 each after the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) concluded its plan to pay half of their wages in the Company’s own cryptocurrency violated the province’s Employment Standards Act, 2000.

According to OLRB Board member Roslyn McGilvery, the workers each signed identical employment contracts promising $240,000 in “base salary” with compensation to be paid 50% in cash and 50% in Kinglory’s KGC cryptocurrency.

However, the OLRB ruled that once the Company had specified the employees’ base salary as $240,000, “it was not open to the Employer to pay their wages in a method other than those stipulated in subsection 11(2) of the Act — that is by cash, cheque or direct deposit.”

The KGC cryptocurrency did not constitute legal tender. Accounting for the Company’s existing payments made to the employees over their 40-week employment, as well as their vacation pay entitlements, that left $116,742 still owing to each, the OLRB concluded.

In the most recent decision, the OLRB notes that if Kinglory’s contract had presented the compensation package as a base salary of $120,000, plus an additional benefit of KGC tokens worth $120,000, this “may have been persuasive.”

Swann Law is delighted to welcome Lucinda Bendu as an Associate Lawyer.

Called to the Ontario Bar in 2018, Lucinda earned her J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School and a Masters of Industrial Relations from Queen's University.

Lucinda is committed to social justice and volunteered at CLASP, providing legal advice to disadvantaged individuals. She brings extensive experience as a civil litigator, having handled cases involving oppression remedies, contract disputes, and employment issues. Additionally, Lucinda is fluent in Krio and proficient in French.

To learn more about Lucinda Bendu and the rest of our team, visit our website: https://swannlaw.ca/teams/