Employer is forcing me to break the law to keep my hours
As the title says, my employer is forcing me to agree to break the law should I want to keep my hours and be able to pay my bills.
I work for a cannabis company in Alberta that does city-wide deliveries. I already barely get enough hours to pay my bills. I am actively searching for other employment, but it isn't an easy task as I am a full-time uni student and we are in an unemployment crisis, so please don't just tell me to quit my job.
In order to keep my hours with my school schedule changing at the end of the summer, I have been forced to agree to make delivieries with my vehicle. My employer refuses to provide me with business/commercial insurance for my vehicle, and will not pay me the difference. I CANNOT afford this, it would add up to an extra hundred dollars a month to my insurance premiums (I already have the bare minimum and struggle to afford this), and since they don't pay me any extra for delivieries and I'll already have to pay for more gas/wear and tear on my car, it is impossible for me to pay it on my own. I also can't just refuse to do deliveries unless they pay it for me, as, again, if I even lost one or two hours of work, I would be unable to pay my bills.
I have read that it is a crime to use your car for business purposes without proper commercial insurance, and that if I got into an accident while doing a delivery, I could have my entire insurance policy voided and have to pay out of pocket for damages. I also read that I could have charges pressed against me for improper insurance coverage. I live in a city with an insanely high number of motor vehicle accidents, and the idea of these consequences is terrifying, but I had no other choice if I wanted to be able to pay my bills and feed myself and my family. We are also regularly forced to deliver more than 30g of cannabis at a time, which is the legal carry limit. I'm worried if I deliver over the limit and get pulled over, I could also be charged with possesion/intent to distribute. I drive safely, don't speed, stop at stop signs, but sometimes you do everything right and still get pulled over, or have to go through a traffic stop.
When I was first hired, HR also refused to provide me with those tax forms you sign when you start a new job - I asked for them but the lady in our HR department said she had "used the algorithms" and "taken care of it", but I dont think I ever gave them my SIN and I'm pretty sure you have to sign those forms yourself. I've worked at at least a dozen places since I was 14 and had to sign those forms by hand at every single one of them. I still got my T4 last year, so I'm sort of thinking they forged my signature on those which HAS to be illegal.
We were also forced to sign a form agreeing to waive our right to our legally required breaks in order to be paid for our full shift, and it was implied if we didn't agree to this we would be fired, but one of my coworkers said that was allowed and another store she worked at did the same thing, though they never worked alone and still got time to rest so I'm not sure if that part is allowed or not lol. We aren't allowed to close the store or lock the doors for any reason, not even putting a "back in 5" to pee or anything. Is that allowed?
Several other employees at my store are planning to report the business to the labour board at the end of the month for other reasons (not being allowed to see our pay stubs, not being paid for our hours worked, forced to work in unsafe conditions, being forced to pay back money that customers stole from the till, etc) and I was curious if the insurance and refusal to let me sign my own tax documents is illegal and would constitute something I could report, or if I am on my own and just have to pay my own insurance and pray my signature wasn't forged. If I report them to the labour board, will I get in trouble for agreeing to do the deliveries without insurance? Will they tell my insurance company? I'm not sure if they are legally required to provide it to me or compensate me for using my own vehicle for work in any way.
Side note, I'm pretty sure this company is just a money laundering front, but I try not to ask too many questions. It really is an incredibly dangerous place to work. I'm currently being stalked by a customer and my manager refuses to do anything about it or ban him from the store.
Posted Sep 13, 2025, 10:55 PM UTC