Contact a member of the regional legal team in your region SGM and REO are working with a regional legal team to ensure the most effective representation possible for the proposed class. Click here to contact a member of the national team in your province. IMPORTANT NOTE Members of the legal team have been retained by the proposed representative plaintiff to pursue this action as a class proceeding. Their retainer is limited to issues which apply to the class as a whole. Unless you have a written retainer agreement with a member of the legal team, no member of the legal team has taken on the responsibility to advise you with respect to your individual circumstances, including whether or not you should participate in this class action.

New!

Toronto, May 30, 2011--Later this year, the Court of Appeal will be hearing the appeals of both the plaintiff and defendant from the orders of Justice Perell. The plaintiff has filed its factum (written argument) in respect of his appeal from Justice Perell's refusal to certify some of the proposed common issues and Justice Perell's order striking the holiday pay claim. The defendant is scheduled to file its factum from Justice Perell's order certifying the class action by the end of June.

UPDATE: The appeal of Justice Perell’s order certifying this action will be heard by the Court of Appeal on Tuesday February 28th and Wednesday February 29th, 2012.

Toronto, November 2, 2010--Justice Perell of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismisses CN's claim for costs and grants McCracken's claim for costs. Read the decision.

Court Certifies Overtime Class Action Against CN

On Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Justice Perell of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released his ordering that the class action brought against CN Rail for unpaid overtime be certified.

The Court found that there is a basis in fact for the plaintiff’s allegations that: (a) first line supervisors on average work over 50 hours per week and sometimes as many as 90 hours per week; (b) they regularly work 12-hour shifts on consecutive days; (c) they are given pagers so that they are available at all times, including while off duty; and (d) they are frequently called for unscheduled work and to substitute for unionized and non-unionized employees.

Justice Perell rejected CN’s contention that the Court had no jurisdiction to hear claims based on statutory overtime provisions and found that the minimum overtime provisions in the Canada Labour Code formed part of the contracts of employment of the class members.

The Court further found that a class proceeding was a preferable procedure for determining class members’ claims.

To read the Court’s reasons for decision click here.

Class Action commenced against CN for unpaid overtime for first line supervisors.

The law firms of Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP ("SGM") and Roy Elliot O'Connor LLP ("REO") are co-lead counsel on a proposed class action commenced in Toronto Ontario seeking compensation for alleged unpaid overtime hours worked by CN first line supervisors.

The lawsuit alleges that CN failed to pay overtime to its first line supervisors across Canada. Subsequently, the lawsuit alleges CN misclassified first line supervisors as management employees in order to escape its obligations to pay overtime under the Canada Labour Code.

The statement of claim alleges that first line supervisors of CN across Canada are routinely required to work hundreds of hours of overtime annually for which they are not paid. The allegations in the statement of claim have not been proven in Court. No statement of defence has been filed by CN.

The representative of the class action is Michael McCracken, a CN first line supervisor who routinely is required to work an additional 40 hours per month for which he is not paid.

SGM and REO are working with Chivers Carpenter lawyers in Alberta and Melançon Marceau Grenier Sciortino in Quebec to ensure that employees in Western Canada, Ontario, and Quebec/Eastern Canada have access to local counsel to determine whether they qualify to be a member of the class.

Further information about the class action be obtained at www.unpaidovertime.ca and via a toll free number: 1-888-687-2431.