Paving the Way for Overtime Class Actions

• Author: Elba Bendo
• Pages: 271-297

271

PAVING THE WAY FOR OVERTIME

CL ASS ACTIONS

Elba Bendo

Abstract: In June 2012, the Ontario Court of Appeal released

three decisions regarding the certif‌ication of overtime class

actions. In each of the th ree cases, the court revis its the appli-

cation of the certif‌ication test set out in section 5 of the Class

Proceedings Act. By reviewi ng the court’s judgments, this arti-

cle aims to develop a framework that can be used to enable

the certif‌ication of overtime class actions. The Ontario Class

Proceedings Act was enacted t wenty years ago, yet it remains

disputable whether the legislat ion has achieved its intended

benef‌its. Few cases h ave passed the high certif‌ication hurdle

and even fewer have been resolved through post-trial judg-

ments. If class actions are ever to become a viable forum for

enforcing workers’ rights, court s must strictly observe and

vigorously employ the principles established in the overtime

trilogy. Ontario is ready for full-f‌ledged class proceedings; it

is now up to the judiciary to give the province’s class actions

legislation the generous application it deserves.