Canada Cartage / Direct Distribution Centres
Unpaid Overtime Class Action

Class Action Against Canada Cartage and Direct Distribution Centres

On November 1, 2021, Justice Belobaba of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved the settlement between the representative plaintiff Marco Baroch and Canada Cartage. You can read Justice Belobaba’s decision here. The settlement provides for a payment of $22,250,000 by Canada Cartage. The Class Counsel team is now working on distributing the settlement funds, pursuant to Justice Belobaba’s Order, to Class Members.

AM I A CLASS MEMBER?
The Class includes current and former employees of Canada Cartage (Canada Cartage System Limited, Direct Limited Partnership, Canada Cartage System Limited Partnership and Sonar Limited Partnership) who worked at Canada Cartage at any point between March 1, 2006 to January 30, 2015 and who were entitled to overtime pay under the Canada Labour Code.

The Class does not include employees who were part of management or otherwise exempt from overtime pay. It does not include employees who were part of a union. It does not include individuals who worked for Canada Cartage through an agency. It also excludes everyone who “opted out” of the class action by sending a request to Class Counsel before December 31, 2015.

Please note that just because you may have received a copy of the settlement approval notice does not mean that you are in the class. The settlement approval notice was sent to all former employees and everyone who registered on the web site, even if they were not otherwise Class Members.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?
RicePoint has sent out notification letters to each class member on August 9, 2022.

If you did not receive a letter about the settlement by August 23, 2022, we may not have current address information for you. If you wish to update your address information or otherwise believe you should have received a notification letter, please contact RicePoint, the claims administrator, at canadacartage@ricepoint.com or 1-888-713-5220.

WHEN WILL CLASS MEMBERS RECEIVE FUNDS?
RicePoint sent notification letters explaining to each Class Member how much money they should anticipate receiving as part of the settlement on August 9, 2022. A letter enclosing a first cheque was sent in November/December 2022. The second distribution of funds was sent out on July 2, 2024.

HOW MUCH WILL I RECEIVE?
The estimated share of the settlement that each Class Member will receive is indicated on the notification letter that was sent out on August 9, 2022.

HOW ARE THE FUNDS BEING DISTRIBUTED?
Our team is using available records from Canada Cartage to divide the settlement funds among Class Members.

WILL ALL CLASS MEMBERS RECEIVE MONEY?
No. There is a minimum $50 requirement to receive a payment. If the computations do not indicate at least a $50 payment of settlement funds, then you will not receive any funds. This will be indicated in the notification letter.

This is most likely to happen either if a Class Member was employed at Canada Cartage for a short period or if the Class Member did not work significant unpaid/underpaid overtime.

In addition, anyone who opted out of the class action will not receive any funds.

WHAT IF I DIDN’T KEEP ANY OF MY TIMESHEETS OR PAY STUBS?
Our team is using data from Canada Cartage’s pay records and trip management system to calculate Class Members’ payments. You do not need to provide time sheets, pay stubs or proof of employment.

WHO IS THE REPRESENTATIVE PLAINTIFF?
The representative plaintiff is the plaintiff who is bringing the lawsuit on behalf of himself and all of the class members. Marco Baroch is the representative plaintiff in this class action. Marco worked as a shunter at a Canada Cartage location in Mississauga, Ontario for about seven years.

WHO ARE THE LAWYERS?
This class action was started by lawyers at Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP, a premier litigation boutique located in Toronto, Ontario. To contact us, click here.