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CANADA CARTAGE SETTLEMENT UPDATE:
- A judge approved this settlement Nov. 10, 2021.
Current and former Canada Cartage and Direct Distribution Centre workers may be able to take part in a $22.25 million settlement that, if approved, will end a class action lawsuit alleging the companies failed to pay overtime.
Settlement documents have been sent to a court for approval. If approved, those who were employed by Canada Cartage or and Direct Distribution Centres at any time between March 1, 2006, and Jan 30, 2015, may be able to claim a class action rebate. Class Members must have been entitled to overtime pay and their employment must not have been governed by a collective agreement between Canada Cartage and a union.
Lead plaintiff, Marc-Oliver Baroch, lodged the class action lawsuit against Canada Cartage and Direct Distribution Centres in 2013 claiming that the companies failed to pay certain workers overtime. Baroch, an Ontario man who operated a shunt truck for the shipping and distribution companies, alleged Canada Cartage and Direct Distribution had taken advantage of certain types of workers, forcing them to work overtime without proper pay.
Baroch said that he was expected to work more than nine hours a day or between 50 and 60 hours a week. He claims that when he started with Canada Cartage in 2006, he was paid $19.50 an hour and only received overtime for working more than 60 hours a week; however, things got worse in 2012 when the company reduced his pay to $17.34 an hour without notice.
The plaintiff claimed that in 2012, he was “notionally” paid overtime for working more than 45 hours in a week, but his weekly pay remained the same as when he was paid $19.50 an hour.
The class action lawsuit sought to represent drivers, shunters, dispatchers, warehouse personnel, units pickers, dock workers, swampers, and inventory coordinators. Baroch alleged that Canada Cartage and Direct Distribution and Direct Distribution took advantage of workers’ lower education levels and “reverse engineer[ed]” their paychecks to make it look like they had been paid overtime.
In reality, workers’ gross weekly earnings remained the same, claimed the class action lawsuit.
“Canada Cartage took advantage of the class members’ lack of sophistication, systemically misleading class members about their entitlement to overtime,” stated the lawsuit. “This included issuing directives through management that deliberately obfuscated both Canada Cartage’s overtime obligations to class members and the true rationale surrounding its reasons for unilaterally reducing class members’ rates of pay.”
The plaintiff accused Canada Cartage and Direct Distribution of violating labour laws. The class action was certified by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2015.
Under the terms of the class action settlement, Canada Cartage and Direct Distribution admit no wrongdoing but have agreed to pay Class Members for unpaid overtime they worked between March 1, 2006, and June 3, 2021.
Class Members who wish to stay in the settlement do not need to take any further action; however, those that wish to object need to send a request in writing to the claims administrator. Contact information is available on the settlement website.
A hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 1, 2021.
Will you take part in the Canada Cartage class action settlement? Tell us about it in the comment section below.
The plaintiff and Class Members are represented by Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP.
The Canada Cartage Class Action Lawsuit is Baroch v. Canada Cartage Diversified GP Inc., et al., Case No. CV-13-492525-00CP in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
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16 thoughts onCanada Cartage Workers Ink $22M Settlement in Overtime Class Action Lawsuit
Yes make them pay for all the wrong they done. to us all.
Add me to the class action
Add me to
What about long haul drivers who drive 10-12 hrs a day every day. 70hrs. a week is norm…
I started work at Canada Cartage 1999-2019. I took a drop in pay for the contract work at Sobeys, worked a minimum 60+ hours a week. hope the payouts are going to be nice. Retired 2019, could use some extra monies right now. Those hours worked to be paid out now will be nice.
I started working for Canada Cartage in 2010 out of London, hauling Propane and still do to this day. There was a lot of discrepancies in pays, and I still have to watch this new payroll company UKG PRO as they made the pay statements a lot more complicated to follow. I’m happy this is being resolved but the pay out to the workers will be very trivial.
Update to this case Dec 2, 2022
Still no money paid out to the victims, and another letter stating maybe by the “Holiday Season”.
I Worked well over 60 hours a week in 2006 and on, and was only paid over time after 60.
Its about time that justice gets served and they are shown responsible…
Goood they have been doing this way to long
It’s about time we got justice in this matter.canada cartage had done us wrong for years and need to pay us our money that they have taken from us. Thanks to everyone involved in this matter and the driver who stood up for us and all the people who fought for all of us. Thanks everyone