Court hears certification bid for class action against CIBC

A court hearing Monday in Toronto will determine if a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce for unpaid overtime can proceed as a class-action case.

Dara Fresco, a CIBC teller from Toronto, is the lead plaintiff in the suit, which was filed in 2007 and seeks $500 million in compensation plus $100 million in punitive damages.

Lawyers estimate the suit could cover thousands of current and former tellers and other non-management, front-line workers at retail CIBC branches across Canada.

The statement of claim alleges employees are assigned heavier workloads than can be completed within their regular working hours.

The allegation hasn't been proven in court.

As well, CIBC has denied it routinely forces employees to work unpaid overtime, filing affidavits from more than 50 front-line employees who say the bank is a good place to work.

The suit was filed by Toronto-based law firms Roy Elliot Kim O'Connor LLP and Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP.

Other firms involved

They are working with six other law firms to help determine whether current and former CIBC employees across Canada qualify to join the suit.

The other law firms are Camp Fiorante Matthews [B.C.]; Chivers Carpenter Lawyers [Alberta]; Kapoor Selnes [Saskatchewan]; Myers Weinberg LLP [Manitoba]; Melançon, Marceau, Grenier et Sciortino [Quebec] and Pink Breen Larkin [Atlantic Canada].

Those involved believe it is the first major national class-action case for unpaid overtime to reach the certification stage on a contested basis.

The motion seeking class-action status is to be heard over five days and the judge is expected to reserve decision.

Similar suits have also been launched against CIBC World Markets and Scotiabank.

With files from the Canadian Press