Employee Class Actions – Temporary Foreign Workers Class Action Certified In British Columbia

The British Columbia Supreme Court has recently certified a class action by temporary foreign workers who allege that their employer breached its obligations to them and systematically took advantage of their vulnerability.¹

The merits of the allegations are yet to be addressed, but the decision to certify is another example of the willingness of Canadian courts to allow groups of employees to use class proceedings to pursue employment-related claims and to expand the types of employment-related claims that are certifiable as class proceedings.

Background

The representative plaintiff, Herminia Vergara Dominguez, came from the Philippines to work in Canada as a temporary foreign worker. Ms. Dominguez's experience gave rise to a number of complaints. She therefore applied to certify a class proceeding in British Columbia on behalf of herself and 75 other employees who came to Canada under the temporary foreign worker program to work for the defendant.