Ontario Court Finds New Representative Plaintiff Suitable, Certifies Class Proceeding against Deloitte relating to misclassification of lawyers as Independent Contractors

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Feb 07, 2018, 19:02 ET

TORONTO, Feb. 7, 2018 /CNW/ - A class action against Deloitte involving document reviewers has been certified by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The claim seeks compensation for unpaid vacation, unpaid statutory holiday pay and unpaid overtime. The claim alleges that the documents reviewers were misclassified by Deloitte as independent contractors when in reality they were employees.

The proposed class consists of at least 418 persons, all of whom are lawyers. The class members provided document review services to a variety of Deloitte's clients.

In a decision rendered by Justice Belobaba on April 13, 2017 the matter was certified, pending selection of a new representative Plaintiff. In his decision of April 13, 2017, Justice Belobaba considered the changing employment landscape noting that companies are increasingly labelling employees as self-employed in an effort to reduce operating costs. Justice Belobaba also clarified that having two jobs does not mean that a worker is not an employee.

The adjourned hearing proceeded before Justice Perell. In his decision, dated January 16, 2018, Justice Paul Perell found that Mr. Tarrie Phillip was a suitable representative plaintiff and, accordingly, he officially certified the proceeding as a class action. As a result, the matter will proceed against Deloitte.

"The decision from Justice Perell makes it clear that even if some class members may not support the class action proceeding class actions can still be certified" said Andrew Monkhouse. Further he notes "The case is a reminder that even the largest companies in Canada are subject to the same laws relating to the treatment of their workers".

Sam Marr and David Fogel said that the decision "clarifies that class representatives are not required to win a vote of everyone involved prior to certification to start a class action."

The allegation that the class members in the case were misclassified as independent contractors when they were actually employees has not yet been proven in court. Deloitte denies liability.

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