Bank of Montreal Facing Class Action for Shortchanging Employees on Vacation and Statutory Holiday Pay

TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2020 /CNW/ - Following major layoffs, the Bank of Montreal (BMO) faces a class action for shortchanging its employees of proper vacation and statutory holiday pay.

Monkhouse Law has filed a statement of claim to certify the class action in the Supreme Court of British Columbia for the period from January 1, 2010 until such time as a notice to the class is sent out in the future.

Monkhouse Law - Toronto Employment Lawyers (CNW Group/Monkhouse Law Professional Corporation)

The class action is the third filed by Monkhouse Law against a large Canadian company for shortchanging employees on vacation and public holiday pay. Class actions were previously filed against RBC Insurance Agency Ltd., RBC Life Insurance Co. and Aviva General Insurance Co.

The BMO class action is a national class that alleges the company violated the Canada Labour Code (CLC) by calculating vacation and public holiday pay on an employee's base pay only, ignoring money paid for bonuses, commissions, stock options and share units. It was filed on behalf of a financial planner and private wealth consultant who worked at BMO from June 2009 to June 2017. Allegations must still be proven in court. BMO has many employees who receive variable compensation and commissions, and others who are paid bonuses. Here is the full statement of claim.

Under the CLC, employees must be paid additional vacation pay of 4% of annual wages, 6% if they have 5-10 years of continuous employment, and 8% if they have over 10 years of continuous employment, and holiday pay equal to one twentieth of what they earned over the prior four-week period before a holiday. So, if a six-year employee earned $52,000 and received $48,000 in variable compensation for a total of $100,000 per year, the individual would get three weeks vacation pay totaling $3,000 ($1,000 per week) under the BMO policy. However, under the CLC, the employee would be entitled to 6% of total compensation, or $6,000.

"Shortchanging employees on vacation and statutory holiday pay is a widespread issue and could be happening at more banks in Canada," said Andrew Monkhouse, founder of Monkhouse Law. "However, this practice violates the Canadian Labour Code and denies employees their statutory rights."

BMO was recognized for the third consecutive year as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies, posted a profit of $1.59 billion for the first quarter of 2020, while around Christmas 2019 it announced that it will reduce its headcount by up to 2,300 employees.

"BMO is making billions, but it is cutting its workforce for the sake of profit and in our opinion not paying its variable compensation employees proper vacation and holiday pay," said Monkhouse. "While individually these amounts might seem relatively small, they add up to a substantial sum of money for the bank."

Former BMO employees are encouraged to join the class action and can have a confidential conversation about the matter by contacting Alexandra Monkhouse at 416-907-9249, ext. 211 or [email protected]. Individuals can also complete this form on the Monkhouse Law website.

Toronto-based Monkhouse Law is an employment law firm that specializes in: wrongful dismissal, human rights law, labour law, employment insurance claims, and denied long-term disability claims. Monkhouse Law has a strong history of representing employees in class actions, including having started the first Canadian contractor misclassification case of Sondhi v. Deloitte in 2015.

SOURCE Monkhouse Law Professional Corporation

Andrew Monkhouse, Monkhouse Law, Employment Lawyers, [email protected], [phone], x 225