CIBC Breached its Overtime Obligation to Tellers, Court Rules

Anne Bucher | March 31, 2020

Category: Canada

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The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has found that the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) breached its overtime obligations to tellers, personal bankers and other front-line employees in retail branches throughout Canada.

Justice Edward Belobaba found that CIBC was “careless and indifferent, indeed negligent” with respect to its obligations to comply with the Canada Labour Code.

“I can also find that the bank should have known better,” the judge wrote. “It is a multi-billion-dollar financial institution with an able legal staff that can easily advise on the requirements of federal labour law. For some reason this didn’t happen. The bank dropped the ball, to be sure.”

Judge Belobaba found that CIBC’s policies regarding the recording of employees’ work hours and overtime pay were unlawful and systemic. He determined that CIBC “must be found to have permitted (or not prevented) all uncompensated hours of the class members.”

Plaintiff Dara Fresco of Toronto filed the CIBC unpaid overtime class action lawsuit in 2007. She says she has worked for the CIBC as a teller and personal banking associate since 1998.

According to the CIBC class action lawsuit, Dara was often required to work more than her scheduled hours but was rarely paid for overtime. She says CIBC failed to accurately record all hours worked by non-management employees who provide retail banking services at CIBC retail branch offices in Canada, including hours worked beyond their scheduled hours.

This failure to accurately document the actual hours employees worked and failure to pay overtime was a breach of CIBC’s statutory obligations under the Canada Labour Code, the unpaid overtime class action lawsuit alleged.

Dara filed the CIBC unpaid overtime class action lawsuit on behalf of herself and a proposed Class of approximately 31,000 current and former bank tellers, personal bankers and other front-line employees who worked in CIBC retail branches across Canada.

She says that CIBC has “required, encouraged or permitted class members to record only their standard hours of work and has discouraged employees from submitting claims for overtime.”

Dara alleges that CIBC often refused to pay employees who claim overtime for the hours they worked “and has done so without lawful excuse.”

According to the unpaid overtime class action lawsuit, CIBC is one of the largest corporations in Canada. In 2006, CIBC reportedly had more than $29 billion in assets and a profit of more than $2.6 billion.

“Profits generated from retail banking operations are very important to the total profits of the CIBC,” Dara said in the unpaid overtime class action lawsuit.

CIBC reportedly has hundreds of retail branch offices and employs more than 38,000 workers in Canada. The majority of CIBC’s employees are non-management, the CIBC class action lawsuit says.

“Almost none of the CIBC employees are unionized,” according to the CIBC unpaid overtime class action lawsuit. “There is little or no job security for the class members, and vast inequality of bargaining power between them and the CIBC.”

The unpaid overtime class action lawsuit sought a declaration that CIBC has been unjustly enriched by withholding overtime pay and an order requiring CIBC to disgorge to Class Members all unpaid overtime payments that it had withheld. Dara also asked for $500 million in general damages and $100 million in punitive, aggravated and exemplary damages, or any other amount that the court deems just.

The court has not yet determined how much money in damages the Class Members may be entitled to receive.

“This is an excellent decision for the Class Members and employees generally, and some good news for employees at a time when good news for employees and everyone else is in short supply,” Dara’s attorneys said. “This was a long, hard fought battle against one of Canada’s largest and most profitable corporations.”

“Our team now looks forward to the next phase and ensuring that Bank employees are paid appropriately for all of their unpaid hours they worked over the years.”

Class Members who would like to stay informed about the status of the CIBC class action lawsuit may register their information at CIBCUnpaidOvertime.ca.

What do you think of this CIBC unpaid overtime class action? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!

Class Members are represented by law firms Roy O’Connor LLP, Sotos LLP, and Goldblatt Partners LLP

The CIBC Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit is Dara Fresco v. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Case No. 07-cv-334113PD2, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Canada.