Class Action FAQs
A Class Action in employment law context is a civil action brought by one or more representative plaintiff on behalf of a larger group of victims (“class members”) for matters involving common defendant(s) involving the same transaction or related transactions. Class Action FAQs:
A Class Action in employment law context is a civil action brought by one or more representative plaintiff on behalf of a larger group of victims (“class members”) for matters involving common defendant(s) involving the same transaction or related transactions. In Ontario, Class Actions are governed by the Class Proceedings Act, 1992. A Class Action allows courts to manage lawsuits that would otherwise be unmanageable if each class member were required to be joined as a named plaintiff.
A Class Action in employment law context is a civil action brought by one or more representative plaintiff on behalf of a larger group of victims (“class members”) for matters involving common defendant(s). Litigation is complex and class actions have advantages as well as disadvantages. In cases where it would not be economical or practical for an individual to bring a claim and multiple claimants are similarly affected, it may be viable to proceed as a class action.
Before a judge allows your case to move forward as a class action, you will need to prove that:
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your claim(s) give rise to at least one issue of law or fact;
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there is an identifiable class of two or more persons that would be represented by the representative plaintiff;
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their claims arise out of similar circumstances against the same defendant
Ontario is an opt-out jurisdiction. This means that class members are automatically included in the lawsuit unless they choose to opt-out.
A statute of limitations is applicable to all lawsuit in Ontario including class action. The most common limitation is on the amount of time a plaintiff has to file his or her claim. You MUST file your suit within the time limit. In Ontario, limitation period is governed by the Limitations Act, 2002. The basic limitation period is 2 years for an employment law class action. But the 2 year limitation period doesn’t apply to sexual harassment cases involving assault or sexual assault.
Can I Keep My Severance If I Quit? If you value your severance package, wait until you get fired. If you can’t bare your employer, do quit but make sure you qualify for constructive dismissal before you do. Your employment law entitlement to termination pay and severance pay for long term service ends when you quit.
In Ontario, losing a class action as a representative plaintiff means that you could personally be responsible for paying your own legal fee as well as the defendant(s)’s legal costs, unless a contingency fee (no-win-no-fee) agreement exists between you and your class action lawyer. If you are a class member, you do not take on the responsibility of paying legal costs, unless there’s an existing agreement between class members that said otherwise.
