OVERVIEW

CIBC Unpaid Overtime

This case alleges that CIBC unlawfully failed to pay its employees for overtime work that they were routinely required or permitted to perform to complete the common duties of their positions.

The defendant CIBC is a major Canadian bank.

The defendant’s overtime policy required employees to obtain management approval of overtime hours in advance. The plaintiff alleges that this policy served as an institutional barrier to claims for overtime that would otherwise have been compensable.

Ontario Superior Court of Justice Edward Belobaba ruled in favour of the plaintiff in rulings in 2020. CIBC has appealed the rulings and the Ontario Court of Appeal is expected to release its judgment sometime in the spring.

You are automatically included in the class if you are or were a full-time or part-time CSR, assistant branch manager, FSR, FSA, branch ambassador or other front-line customer service employee working in CIBC’s retail branches across Canada since 1993.

If you are a Class Member and wish to receive information from time to time about the status of the lawsuit, you may request such information by filling in the form on https://cibcunpaidovertime.ca/register/.

Updates

March 3, 2023: Justice Belobaba approved the settlement and the proposed distribution protocol today. The Court asked for further written submissions in respect of Class Counsel’s motion for approval of fees and disbursements.
February 27, 2023: The hearing of the motions for settlement approval, distribution approval and fee approval will take place, via Zoom on March 3, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time). There will be no in-person hearing.
The Zoom coordinates for the hearing are set out below.
Please note that, while the hearing is being conducted by Zoom, it is still an official proceeding in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and regular courtroom decorum must be followed. To attend the hearing you must:
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2. sign into the Zoom stream with your real first and last names;
3. turn off your camera and mute your microphone; and,
4. do not record the proceeding with any form of recording device.
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To read the materials filed in support of the motions, please click here.
January 9, 2023: The settlement approval hearing has now been scheduled for March 3 at 11:00 am.
January 5, 2023: Settlement Reached in CIBC Unpaid Overtime Class Action LawsuitsThe parties have agreed to settle class actions, launched in 2007, by retail branch employees alleging systemic unpaid overtime.The settlement provides that CIBC will pay a total of $153 million, which will be used to compensate approximately 30,000 class members (current and former front-line retail staff) for unpaid overtime, and also used to pay for legal fees and for the cost of distributing the settlement funds. The settlement must be approved by the Ontario Superior Court before it will become binding. A motion will be brought in February 2023 for approval of the settlement, a plan to distribute the settlement funds and payment of legal fees.
The settlement was reached after 15 years of contested litigation, and months of negotiation, which followed decisions on liability by the Ontario Superior Court and Court of Appeal. The Court left the calculation of compensation and CIBC’s related defences to a further hearing, which will no longer be necessary because of the negotiated settlement.Dara Fresco, the former CIBC Bank teller, who brought this case in 2007, stated that she is pleased with the settlement. “It is good news for the class to have this case finally resolved”, said Ms. Fresco. “I am very happy that the case is settling. This settlement is a fair compromise that will bring meaningful compensation to thousands of my fellow class members.”Class Counsel stressed that the settlement will provide for a simple and easy method for class members to be paid. “A big advantage of this settlement is that class members will not have to prove their claims, a task that could be challenging in cases where some claims may go back nearly 30 years.” “We believe that this settlement will put more money into more class members’ hands, a lot sooner, than would happen if the case continued to be fought.”
February 9, 2022: Court of Appeal affirms judgment!In a ruling today, Ontario’s Court of Appeal has affirmed the Superior Court’s decision that CIBC’s overtime policies are illegal and unenforceable and that the Bank’s deficient record-keeping systems were institutional impediments preventing employees from being properly compensated. The hearing for the determination of damages has been adjourned to February 7 and 8, 2023.
January 17, 2022: CIBC’s appeal was heard by the Court of Appeal in September 2021. While we do not know how long the Court of Appeal will take to reach its decision in this case, it is not at all unusual for it to take several months in a significant case. At this time, the case is still moving forward and we will shortly be presenting our proposed claim for financial damages to the court.
September 27, 2021: Zoom link for Court of Appeal hearingThe Ontario Court of Appeal has provided a Zoom link for members of the public who wish to observe the hearing on September 28 and 29th. The hearing will start at 10 a.m. each day.Click on the link below to join the webinar. Please also make sure to read the caution below.
https://ca01web.zoom.us/j/62260688590?pwd=L1R2Z3VXSjVLOHo5b2RzSjBPVW1FZz09Passcode: 523490Or One tap mobile :Canada: +16475580588,,62260688590#,,,,*523490# or +17789072071,,62260688590#,,,,*523490#Or Telephone:Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):Canada: +1 647 558 0588 or +1 778 907 2071 or +1 204 272 7920 or +1 438 809 7799 or +1 587 328 1099 or +1 613 209 3054 or +1 647 374 4685 or 855 703 8985 (Toll Free)Webinar ID: 622 6068 8590Passcode: 523490* Please Note: Unless permission is given by the court, it is an offence under s. 136 of the Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, punishable by a fine of not more than $25,000 or imprisonment of up to six months, or both, to record any part of the hearing, including by way of screenshot/capture and photograph, as well as to publish, broadcast, reproduce or disseminate any such recording.
August 11, 2021: The appeal by CIBC is scheduled to be heard by the Ontario Court of Appeal on Sep 28-29, 2021.
December 8, 2020: CIBC has appealed the three decisions released by Justice Belobaba stemming from the Summary Judgment motion held in December 2019 and June 2020. Justice Belobaba released a decision on March 30, 2020 – Liability Issues Order, a second decision on August 10, 2020 – Damages Issues Order, and a third decision on October 21, 2020 – Limitations Issue Order. We will provide an update once a date is scheduled for the appeal.
August 10, 2020: The Court released its ruling on common issues 6-8 in respect of damages and other remedies. The Court certified an additional common issue concerning aggregate damages. This means that CIBC will be required to produce time-stamped data from its computer systems from which experts hired by the plaintiff will estimate that amount of uncompensated overtime that the class as a whole worked. The Court will then determine how much money to award to the class. In addition, the Court has issued a declaration that says that CIBC’s overtime policy is illegal and can no longer be used as a basis to deny compensation.The next stage of the case will take a number of additional months to complete.In addition, CIBC has indicated that it intends to appeal the Court’s ruling which may add further delay.We will continue to try and move this case forward as quickly as possible.
June 29, 2020: The Court held a further hearing today regarding the remedies the Class Members may be entitled to. A further hearing will be held in August, after which the Court’s decision will follow. This will likely be subject to an appeal which will be heard later this year, or early next year.
March 30, 2020: The decision of Justice Belobaba relating to the Summary Judgment Motion heard on December 12, 2019 has been released. Another hearing will be scheduled to determine damages. Click here to see the Decision.
December 12, 2019: The summary judgment motion was heard on December 12, 2019. Justice Belobaba reserved his judgment and his decision will be released in the new year.
May 8, 2019: The summary judgment motion is rescheduled for December 12-13, 2019.
March 8, 2019: Summary judgement motion is scheduled for September 17-20, 2019.
November 30, 2017: The Superior Court adjourned the plaintiff’s motion until after she has cross-examined CIBC’s affiant on his affidavit of documents
November 7, 2017: The Ontario Superior Court is scheduled to hear a motion on November 30, 2017, to decide if CIBC has failed to produce relevant documents and if CIBC should produce those documents.
October 23, 2017: The Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment has been adjourned to a later date, to be determined, pending the resolution of certain issues regarding CIBC’s non-production of relevant documents.
March 7, 2017: A motion for Summary Judgment to decide some or all of the common issues will be heard on August 29 to September 1, 2017 at Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario.
February 6, 2014: The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ordered that members of the CIBC class be given notice of certification. Copies of the short form notice and the long form notice can be seen here. Any member of the class who wishes to opt out of the class action must do so before May 30, 2014. A copy of the opt-out form can be found at the end of the long form notice.
March 21, 2013: Supreme Court denies CIBC and Scotiabank leave to appeal.
June 26, 2012: Ontario Court of Appeal holds bank class actions may proceed.

Documents

Contacts

CIBC Unpaid Overtime

Louis Sokolov

Jean-Marc Leclerc

Mohsen Seddigh

Karen Whibley