The Supreme Court has dismissed a $350-million bid to launch a class action against CIBC for unpaid after-hours work.
In a 37-page decision, Madam Justice Joan Lax of the Ontario Superior Court ruled that the facts surrounding the complaints did not pass the test of being a class action because the complaints were too “individualized.”
Dara Fresco, a teller at one of the CIBC’s Toronto branches, started the case in 2007. She claimed that the bank often gave non-management employees excessively heavy workloads that could not be completed in a workday and that required overtime to finish.
The suit included complaints from Fresco, nine other employees and a branch manager.
After reviewing the complaints, Lax said that the information did support the basis that there was a systematic practice of unpaid work. She added that each complaint involved individual circumstances that could be resolved only in individual legal claims.
Fresco’s claim is the first attempt by employees in Canada to target a major company for improper overtime practices. More than 1,000 signed up the class action set up by Fresco’s law firm. Also, her claim inspired similar bids by employees at the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Canadian National Railways.
Louis Sokolov, one of Fresco’s lawyers, said they are reviewing a possible appeal, but no decision has been made.
Stephen Forbes, a spokesperson for CIBC, said the bank is pleased with the decision.
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