Lawyer Monthly Magazine - September 2021 Edition

t Examining the Surge in Employee Misclassification Class Actions A number of recent high-profile employee misclassification class actions, such as those directed against Uber and DoorDash, have had profound implications for employment law. This month, we hear from Eric S Block and Justine Lindner of McCarthy Tétrault, who discuss employee misclassification class actions as they have unfolded in Canada. 60 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | JUL 2021 EXPERT INSIGHT worker misclassification in recent years. Examples include: Montaque v. Handa Travel Student Trip Ltd. (“Trip Leaders” on guided tours for students), Rallis v. Approval Team Inc. (non-managerial salespersons and sales managers), Phillip v. Deloitte (document reviewers), Omarali v. Just Energy (door-to-door sales representatives), and Heller v. Uber Technologies (Uber drivers). Under Canadian law, what is the distinction between an employee and an independent contractor? Does this definition differ substantially from that used in the US? While the test to determine a worker’s status may vary slightly across forums and jurisdictions in he alleged misclassification of employees as independent contractors has launched several major class action lawsuits. What employee misclassification class action case history has built up in Canada? Businesses in a range of industries have faced class actions involving allegations of