For months, Farah Yeo worked full time at a Toronto nail salon, performing manicures and pedicures, handling human resources, working the front desk and cleaning.
asserted
Yeo → work → desk
But her paycheques repeatedly fell short of her agreed wage of $1,500 bi-weekly, plus tips and gratuities, and 139 hours of unpaid overtime.
asserted
paycheques → fall → overtime
She is still waiting on more than $13,000 in unpaid wages, including withheld tips, more than seven months after the Ontario Ministry of Labour ordered the company to pay.
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Ministry → wait → company
“It was very traumatizing,” said Yeo, 30, who came from Bangladesh in 2023 as an international student.
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who → say → student
She worked at Nail Fix in the 6ix, a salon chain operating in Leslieville and Scarborough, from 2024 to 2025.
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She → work → 2025
Whenever Yeo asked about the wages, she said the owners promised a resolution but continued to delay, telling her they were waiting for money from investors, as she struggled to understand her rights in a new country.
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she → ask → country
“I felt worthless,” she said.
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she → feel → ?
“I worked really hard and I was so mad at myself for believing them.”
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I → work → them
Yeo is one of nine workers with outstanding orders to pay issued by the ministry against Nail Fix in the 6ix, according to documents seen by the Star.
uncertain
Yeo → pay → Star
Together, the orders total more than $50,000 in unpaid wages, withheld tips and other amounts owed to workers, an amount that includes penalties and collection fees.
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that → total → penalties
None of the workers have been paid, and the business remains operational.
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business → pay → workers
The employer, Monique Joustra, “confirmed that she reviewed the allegations set out by the claimant and indicated that the information provided by appears to be accurate,” according to the employment standards officer’s report seen by the Star.
uncertain
information → confirm → Star
“The employer advised that she is not disputing the claim.”
uncertain
she → advise → claim
Recovering unpaid wages following successful wage-theft claims is a pillar of Ontario’s employment standards system.
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Recovering → recover → system
But Labour Ministry data has shown that workers are increasingly unable to collect successful claims.
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workers → show → claims
Every year, workers in Ontario file thousands of successful claims against employers who owe millions in wages and entitlements.
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who → file → wages
Even when the ministry orders employers to pay, the overwhelming majority do not comply.
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majority → order → employers
A Workers’ Action Centre report reveals the total of assessments over a decade.
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report → reveal → decade
Government collection efforts have failed to recover tens of millions.
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efforts → fail → millions
A Workers’ Action Centre report reveals the total of assessments over a decade.
asserted
report → reveal → decade
Government collection efforts have failed to recover tens of millions.
asserted
efforts → fail → millions
In the past decade, nearly $200 million in unpaid wages have been formally assessed as owed to workers, according to government data.
uncertain
million → assess → data
When employers fail to comply with a Ministry of Labour order to pay within 30 days, the case is referred to Ontario’s Ministry of Finance, which recovered less than a quarter of the $102.4 million sent for collections from 2013-23, leaving workers still owed $79.9 million in stolen wages.
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which → fail → wages
Enforcement gaps and defunct businesses often leave awards unfulfilled, according to legal experts and advocates, who say things aren’t getting better.
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things → leave → experts
At the same time, immigration consultants have noted that wage theft cases particularly among vulnerable workers with precarious immigration status are rising amid market turmoil.
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cases → note → turmoil
These violations frequently go unpunished.
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violations → go → ?
The wage theft cases arising from Nail Fix in the 6ix are “such an awful example of how the Ministry of Labour’s system of enforcement is broken,” said Deena Ladd, who heads the Toronto-based Workers’ Action Centre.
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who → arise → Centre
“How many repeated wage theft cases does the government need to get from one employer to take this seriously?” Ladd said.
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Ladd → repeat → this
What the employer says
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says → say → What
“We’re very sorry that we did this to all of our team members,” Joustra, who co-owns the salon with her husband, Richard Brady, said in a phone interview.
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who → ’re → interview
“It keeps us up at night.”
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It → keep → night
Joustra said the business ran into difficulties after a delayed opening of its Leslieville location in 2024.
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business → say → 2024
The problems snowballed “into an avalanche,” she said, as “we couldn’t meet our obligations, financing costs, and rent became overwhelming.”
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rent → snowball → obligations
They borrowed from family to cover arrears and pay staff.
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They → borrow → staff
“We took on more staff than we could afford because we felt obligated to them,” Brady said.
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Brady → take → them
The financial difficulties continued as staff took vacations or quit due to unpaid wages, Joustra said.
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Joustra → continue → wages
The couple are in “active discussions with the Ministry of Finance” on a payment plan but gave no timeline for repaying workers in full.
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couple → give → workers
She said the couple had set aside money for an initial payment.
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couple → say → payment
Asked how they can pay current staff while the outstanding orders remain unpaid, Joustra said “we are running a very lean business.”
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we → ask → business
“It is our absolute intention to pay these workers what is owed.”
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what → pay → workers
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
