When these supervisors refused to hand over a meal allowance, they didn’t think much of it. In retrospect, they probably should have ponied up for the snack.

Yves Julien, employee of the Canada Border Services Agency, has gotten his just deserts after more than five years of legal battles. The dispute began on Dec. 27, 2003, when Julien was called into work. Because the Saturday was normally a day off for Julien, he was paid time and a half for his shift. Toward the end of the 11-hour workday, supervisors asked Julien if he’d be willing to stay on for an extra three hours. He obliged, and collected double-pay for the extra time.

But when Julien asked his supervisors for a $9 reimbursement to cover a meal, they refused. He argued employees were entitled to the meal allowance when they worked three hours beyond their normal shift — which Julian had done. But supervisors said the rule didn’t apply on holidays or during overtime.

Julien filed a grievance on Feb. 14, 2004, and it traveled through the court system until it was turned down on Jan. 23, 2006. He then brought the case to Canada’s Public Services Labour Relations Board, where his lawyer and government officials clashed over whether or not he was entitled to the $9 compensation.

Eventually, Adjudicator Renaud Paquet sided with Julien, ruling that similar companies had issued the same kind of reimbursements to employees, whether they were working normal or overtime hours.

Officials at the Public Service Alliance of Canada said: “To some people it looks like $9, but to others this is how labor relations work.”

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Tags: Canada Border Services Agency, Holiday, Meal reimbursement, Overtime pay