A Toronto pizza chain has been given one of the biggest fines ever over unpaid wages — money that the court ruled has been owed to the workers for more than three years.

Amato Pizza and its owners were fined more than $300,000 for failing to pay wages owed to six employees.

The Ontario Court of Justice found the company "committed numerous violations of the Employment Standards Act in connection with wages owed to former employees."

The court ruled that the workers were legitimately owed $42,000 in pay from 2005 that the company wouldn't pay.

Lawyer Mary Gallatly of Parkdale Legal Services, who represented the workers, said the fine sends a message to employers.

"I think it's excellent that these guys were brought up and finally prosecuted. They were very arrogant when the Ministry of Labour ordered them to pay. They refused to pay, you know, year after year. So I was really happy to see that they were finally prosecuted for not paying these workers their wages," she said.

Gallatly said one worker is owed $17,000 in pay and overtime.

"So, it's nice to see, finally, the government beginning to take action against employers, like Amato's, who have been going years not paying workers' wages," she said.