Approval Team Class Action
What is this Action About?
On January 17, 2020, Monkhouse Law started a proposed class action against Approval Team and its directors.
The lawsuit alleges that the Approval Team had no policy in place to properly monitor, record or compensate employees for overtime or public holiday pay hours. Further, they did not pay vacation pay, statutory holiday pay or make any remittances for EI or CPP for employees misclassified as independent contractors.
The issued statement of claim is available here: Approval Team – Statement of Claim
The initial press release is available here.
The action was certified for all salespeople and sales managers who were misclassified as independent contractors, see the judgment by Justice Glustein at: Rallis v. Approval Team Inc., 2020 ONSC 4197 (CanLII), <http://canlii.ca/t/j8kbh>.
The certification order set out the terms under which certification was approved by the Court. The certification order covered only those salespersons and sales managers who were classified as independent contractors (generally those working prior to March 2019).
The opt-out period has passed as of November 25, 2020 for the Certified Class Members.
Updates:
The parties reached a settlement agreement to resolve the action on a without prejudice basis. The Defendants do not admit liability. In order for the settlement to become effective, it must first be approved by the Court (a Judge). The Settlement, Certification and Fee Approval hearing will take place on January 10, 2022 virtually over Zoom. The details of the hearing will be posted when available.
The Settlement Agreement is available here. You may be entitled to compensation under the Proposed Settlement if you fall within either of the following definitions:
All salespersons and sales managers of Approval Team Inc. who, since January 1st , 2018 to July 30th, 2020, worked or continue to work for Approval Team Inc., as independent contractors. (the “Certified Class Members”).
All salespersons and sales managers of Approval Team Inc. who, since January 1st , 2018 to the date of certification, worked or continue to work for Approval Team Inc., as employees. (the “Extended Class Members”).
On November 2, 2021, the Ontario Court of Justice Issued an Order to Disseminate Notice of the Settlement, Certification and Fee Approval hearing. The Dissemination of Notice Order is available here. This notice of hearing will be sent to class members to ensure they know that a hearing will take place on January 10, 2022 to determine whether:
- the class action will be certified for the Extended Class;
- the settlement reached by the parties will be approved, and
- the suggested counsel fees and representative Honourarium will be approved.
The Short Form Notice of Settlement Hearing is available here.
The Long Form Notice of Settlement Approval Hearing is available here.
If you wish to object to settlement, the objection form must be completed by November 30, 2021 and sent to Class Counsel in order to be filed with the Court. The Objection Form is available here
More Information:
Should you have any questions about the proposed settlement please email us at approvalteam.classaction@monkhouselaw.com or call us at 416-907-9249 extension 256.