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ARTICLE · 12 AUGUST 2016

Mis(class)ified? First-Of-Its-Kind Class Action Gets The Green Light

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For the first time, a group of workers who were allegedly misclassified as independent contractors have been certified to proceed with a class action lawsuit against their principal.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Lindsay Lorimer
Lindsay Lorimer
Dave McKechnie
Dave McKechnie
Paul Boshyk
Paul Boshyk
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For the first time, a group of workers who were allegedly misclassified as independent contractors have been certified to proceed with a class action lawsuit against their principal. In Omarali v. Just Energy ("Omarali"),1 an Ontario Superior Court judge approved a class of approximately 7,000 current and former sales agents who allege, among other claims, that Just Energy breached the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the "ESA") by failing to treat them as employees and provide them with minimum wage, overtime and other benefits provided to employees under the ESA.

Background

Just Energy provides electricity and natural gas supply to residential and commercial customers throughout Canada. A significant component of its revenue is generated by independent sales agents who work door-to-door and are paid entirely by commission.

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