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TD Bank facing $500 million class-action over unpaid vacation, holiday pay for mobile mortgage specialists

Toronto Dominion Bank is facing a $500 million class-action lawsuit over unpaid overtime and public holiday pay.

The proposed class action states that TD Bank failed to properly provide vacation and holiday pay to its mobile mortgage specialists on their commissions, volume bonuses and other variable (non-salary) payments, according to Cavalluzzo LLP.

The statement of claim, filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, seeks to advance the claims for a class of more than 1,000 mobile mortgage specialists across Canada. Jason Chiang, a veteran mobile mortgage specialist who spent nearly 13 years working for the TD bank in Vancouver, is the proposed representative plaintiff.

“It is important to me that a court assess whether these mobile mortgage specialists are being paid the vacation and holiday pay required by the employment legislation,” Chiang said. “I am pleased to advance this case for all these employees.”

Canada Labour Code

In a press release, Cavalluzzo LLP noted that under the federal Canada Labour Code, employees governed by that statute — including employees paid in part or whole by commission and bonuses — are entitled to vacation pay of four to eight per cent (depending on their length of employment) of their gross or total wages.

The code also provides that those employees are entitled to additional pay for the statutory public holidays. Employees in many industries are not aware of these minimum employment standards and how they are applied, it said.

Lawyers representing workers

A team of lawyers out of Toronto are representing Chiang, including David O’Connor of Roy O’Connor LLP, Stephen Moreau of Cavalluzzo LLP and Daniel Lublin of Whitten & Lublin PC.

“Compliance with minimum employment standards is important for all employees generally,” they said in a joint statement. “We will be bringing a motion to request that this case be certified for this class of employees and, if it is certified, a court will subsequently consider and evaluate the issues alleged in the claim.”

The allegations in the claim have yet to be tested or proven in court. TD Bank has not responded yet, but the lawyers for Chiang said they expected TD would defend the action and deny the allegations.