(The following appeared on the Toronto Sun website on August 17, 2010.)
TORONTO — An Ontario judge has granted a group of Canadian National Railway Co. employees class action status in a dispute for unpaid overtime.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perell released his decision Wednesday.
Michael McCracken brought the class action forward on behalf of approximately 1,500 current and former CN first line supervisors.
McCracken alleges CN has misclassified first line supervisors as managers and they are entitled, like other employees, to receive overtime pay.
“On behalf of all my colleagues at CN, I am very happy that the court ruled that the case is permitted to go forward,” McCracken said.
McCracken is represented by Roy Elliott O’Connor LLP and Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP. Both firms are also counsel in overtime cases against CIBC and the Bank of Nova Scotia.
“This is a very significant decision, not only for the 1,500 members of the class, but for non-unionized employees across the country,” said Louis Sokolov of Sack Goldblatt Mitchell.