A man who allegedly billed foreign workers $6,000 to find them work in Calgary fast-food restaurants has been charged under Alberta's Fair Trading Act.

Restaurant owners tipped off provincial authorities after discovering two employees from the Philippines had each paid $1,500 to come to Canada and still owed their recruiter $4,500.

Jose F. Garcia has been charged with two counts of charging fees to find jobs for workers. In Alberta, an employment agency can only charge the employer for its services.

"They are allowed to assist people coming to Alberta. They are allowed to help them with filling out resumes ... helping them to find a job, but the bottom line is they are not to charge a fee for finding a job," Service Alberta Minister Heather Klimchuk said Wednesday.

Under the Fair Trading Act, the maximum penalty is $100,000 and two years in jail.

Garcia has also been charged with two counts of operating an employment agency without a provincial licence. He's scheduled to appear in court in late January.

The offences allegedly happened in 2007. In 2008, the province ordered Garcia to stop collecting fees from workers and to cease operations until he got a licence.