Procom Hit With $800M Class Action Lawsuit After Misclassifying Employees

A proposed class action lawsuit alleging $800 million in damages has been lodged against temporary placement agency Procom Consultant Group over allegations workers were misclassified.

The lead plaintiff alleges that Procom flouted an Ontario employment law that designates those working through a temporary placement agency as employees of the agency and entitled to benefits, including vacation, overtime, and holiday pay. The plaintiff says that she and other workers were denied these types of compensation from Procom for years.

The plaintiff says that she was hired through Procom as an IT consultant with a government agency. Though she worked with full-time employees and other independent contractors, she was denied the rights and benefits due to her as an employee under provincial law.

According to the proposed misclassified Procom workers class action lawsuit, Procom ignored an amendment to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, passed by the province in 2009, in order to line its pockets at the expense of its workers.

The founder of the law firm that filed the misclassified Procom workers class action lawsuit for certification with Ontario Superior Court of Justice stated “Ontario passed an amendment to the Employment Standards Act (ESA) which states that people working for temporary help agencies are employees, but it appears that Procom, one of the largest, has not changed its practices,” in a press release.

In addition, Procom workers should have been classified as employees due to the supervision and control the temp agency exerted over them. The complaint contends that, as a result of this misclassification, Procom committed the following violations of the ESA:

• Failure to ensure proper classification under the law
• Failure to inform Class Members that they were entitled to overtime pay when they worked more than 44 hours per week
• Requiring Class Members to work overtime without pay
• Failing to accurately monitor and report work hours
• Prohibiting workers from entering into contracts directly with the places where they worked
• Failing to inform Class Members of their entitlement to vacation time, holiday pay, and accruals
• Failing to compensate Class Members for vacation time and holidays
• Failing to pay Class Members for all time worked

The misclassified Procom workers class action lawsuit also charges Procom with forcing its workers to sign contracts that went too far. According to the complaint, the plaintiff and other workers were assigned to various clients through Procom; however, they only received assignments if they signed contracts stating that they were independent contractors.

Further, Procom workers were barred from entering into outside employment agreements with the agencies and institutions they worked for. In addition, the contract threatened to slap workers with the obligation to pay damages should they ever be deemed employees under Ontario law.

The misclassified Procom workers class action lawsuit contends that these contracts, or at a minimum, portions of them are void and cannot be enforced against Procom workers.

“Procom’s misclassification of the Class Members as purported independent contractors and the denial of their entitlements under the ESA or applicable employment standards act is unlawful,” states the complaint.

According to a press release issued by the law firm representing the lead plaintiff and proposed Class Members, Procom has already lost against similar allegations made to the Ontario Labour Relations Board. In that action, notes the law firm, Procom argued that wages due to a consultant should be rescinded because the agency had entered into a contract for service; however, the Labour Board ruled against Procom, finding that the consultant should have been classified as an employee under the law.

“Procom knew or ought to have known that the workers were being placed in temporary positions under the guise of being independent contractors,” noted a representative for the law firm that filed the complaint. “It’s a classic example of people being told they are contract workers and losing the protections of being employees.”

The Procom class action lawsuit seeks to represent Ontario residents who were placed by Procom since 2009 and were classified as independent contractors. The misclassified workers class action lawsuit is seeking $400 million in damages representing unpaid wages, along with $400 million in punitive damages against Procom in order to deter the temp agency from similar behaviors in the future.

Have you ever gotten a temp position with Procom? Do you think their work policies are fair? Tell us what happened in the comment section below!

The lead plaintiffs and proposed Class Members are represented by Andrew H. Monkhouse and Alexandra Monkhouse of Monkhouse Law.

The Procom Employee Misclassification Class Action Lawsuit is Anna Brown v. Procom Consultants Group LTD., Case No. CV-20-00641245-00CP, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Canada. 

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