They were supposed to be on the job. Instead, Ontario workplace inspectors dined in restaurants while billing taxpayers for overtime, probe reveals

A government initiative meant to protect vulnerable workers was undermined by a workplace inspectors' scheme" to falsely claim overtime, according to an internal labour ministry investigation.

The inspectors were participating in the ministry's underground economy initiative, a workplace blitz that involved after-hours visits to employers who may be subjecting workers from vulnerable populations to unsafe working conditions," the report says. The inspectors would receive overtime pay for their work.

Instead, the probe found, an inspector routinely filed overtime claims for substantial" chunks of time spent eating and drinking coffee at restaurants with colleagues - and encouraged other inspectors to similarly misrepresent time spent in the field.

These irregular" overtime submissions bumped his hourly wage rate to north of $60 an hour, based on the inspector's salary description contained in the ministry investigation. Discrepancies in the inspector's pay claims and his actual fieldwork were ultimately caught by a tracking device installed in his ministry-issued Chevrolet Equinox.

The labour ministry was unable to comment on specific human resources issues and did not confirm whether the inspector was terminated. But in a statement, a spokesperson said the ministry expects every occupational health and safety inspector to uphold a high standard of excellence and integrity."

If you want to try and claim pay for work you didn't do, you will be fired. It's as simple as that," said labour minister Monte McNaughton.

In a statement to the Star, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union confirmed that it represented the inspector at the centre of the overtime allegations and that a labour grievance involving the employee had been resolved.

More recently, there has been a slate of firings, but because those are under a grievance process, we cannot comment on them directly at this time - other than to say that we have serious concerns about how these terminations unfolded. The employer has taken action against our members, but not provided evidence against them - even for us to rebut. This does not bode well for a fair process."

The investigation obtained by the Star focuses on the conduct of one inspector in the Toronto region, but says the ministry initiated a total of nine investigations into alleged wrongdoing" amongst safety inspectors on the same team.

The overtime scheme had potentially serious implications for both the ministry and the Ontario public as a whole as the intent of the (underground economy) initiative was lost," the internal investigation states.

Worker safety was no longer at the forefront of the inspector's minds."

Unusual activity' in inspectors' OT claims

According to documents obtained by the Star under Freedom-of-Information legislation, the underground initiative, which took place in 2020 amid the pandemic, began by targeting temporary help agencies and then expanded to other sectors. It was seen internally as a vital part of the ministry's enforcement and intelligence-gathering strategy, aiming to complete 2,200 inspections to identify possible exploitation.

But by December 2020, as COVID ripped through essential workplaces, officials were alerted to unusual activity" amongst multiple" safety inspectors with the ministry's construction program. Their field visits all showed the same pattern of overtime submissions: four hours were claimed for one workplace visit, eight for two visits, and 10 for three visits.

The inspector at the centre of the internal investigation was ultimately found to have received around $4,100 in overtime payments for hours that were never worked.

The same inspector also directed multiple public servants" to participate in the billing scheme, which was devised to avoid detection while over-reporting overtime hours," according to the internal ministry investigation.

Inspector denied being scheme's ringleader

In interviews with ministry officials summarized in the final report, the inspector denied being the ringleader of a scheme and became progressively angrier" upon learning his colleagues had pointed the finger at him.

The inspector said some current and former" safety inspectors had previously told him about a so-called 4, 8, 10 matrix." This referred to the number of hours it should take to conduct a good field visit to a workplace.

The inspector denied the allegations lodged against him and provided ministry officials with his own Google Maps data, which detailed his work movements and showed only minor discrepancies in overtime claims. He also said he was sometimes unable to take lunch breaks, and had therefore upped the number of paid hours he'd claimed.

Ministry officials subsequently reviewed data recorded by equipment installed in all Ontario public service vehicles and identified numerous issues with the inspector's conduct.

This included lengthy stops at locations with no discernable work purpose," being in the field for significantly less time than the overtime hours submitted, or not being present at field visits with a colleague as claimed, according to the internal report.

The report said the inspector's Google data was rife with inaccuracies. The investigation also found that the inspector colluded" with another colleague to provide false or misleading information during the investigation process."

It was apparent that the primary consideration of conducting (underground) visits became claiming as much money as possible without their improprieties being detected," the investigation states.

Calls for increased workplace safety inspections

Robust and proactive workplace safety inspections have long been a key demand of worker advocates.

An auditor-general's report from 2019 found that just one per cent of workplaces across the province were being proactively inspected to ensure they are safe. The report also said the ministry often failed to systematically target high-risk employers and workplaces.

At the time, the ministry said it was working to improve its risk-based inspections. It launched the underground economy initiative shortly after.

In 2020, the ministry announced it would hire 100 more health and safety inspectors to cope with the demands of COVID-19 and build the largest workplace safety inspectorate in Ontario's history."

A ministry spokesperson said the fallout of the overtime allegations has not impacted workplace inspections.

But OPSEU said the province's inspection regime continues to be deeply flawed and underfunded."

The last few years have been extremely challenging for front-line inspectors. The pandemic threw a wrench into the inspection regime. Their work environment, and the policies directing their work, changed very dramatically," the spokesperson said.

We will continue to represent our members and demand due process, including those recently terminated."

Sara Mojtehedzadeh is a Toronto-based reporter covering work and wealth on the Star's investigations team. Follow her on Twitter: @saramojtehedz