Alexander v. Ontario
Pension Class Action
What this class action is about
This class action alleges that the Province of Ontario breached its undertaking to certain employees whose employment was transferred from municipal providers to Community Care Access Centres in or around 1997.
The collective agreements that applied to the affected employees required that they be members of the OMERS pension plan. In transferring the employees to the CCACs, the Province failed to make the necessary changes to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Act to allow them to continue to belong to the OMERS plan. Consequently, the affected employees were enrolled by their employers in the Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP).
The class action alleges that employees’ membership in two pension plans will have an adverse financial impact on their pension entitlements.
The representative plaintiff is Darlene Alexander, an employee of the South West Community Care Access Centre in Stratford, Ontario.
Updates
November 16, 2016: The settlement has been approved
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has approved the settlement of this class action.
On Monday, November 14, 2016, the Honourable Justice Paul Perell approved the class definition amendment and settlement of this class action.
To find out details of the settlement and the process by which Class Members can make a claim, please read the Notice of Settlement Approval.
If you have any questions about the settlement or the Claims Form that are not answered in the Notice of Settlement Approval or at the CUPE Pension Class Action website, please contact Devon Paul at CUPE.
September 26, 2016: Settlement Approval Hearing rescheduled
The settlement approval hearing has now been rescheduled for Monday November 14, 2016.
After the settlement was negotiated in March, we became aware that the definition of “the Class” in this litigation would prevent certain members of CUPE Local 8916 from participating in the settlement, since they had been enrolled in the VON Canada Pension Plan, and not OMERS, prior to the transfer. We have now reached an agreement with counsel for the Defendant to have the definition of “the Class” amended to include these additional CUPE members.
The addition of these new class members in the definition of the Class will not affect the settlement amount to be received by other class members.
The parties, on consent, will seek to amend the Class definition at the settlement approval hearing on November 14, 2016 and ask the court to give the new class members time to opt out of the settlement.
June 21, 2016: Settlement Approval Hearing adjourned
The settlement approval hearing, scheduled for June 24, 2016, has been adjourned to allow for further discussions between the parties. A new date for the settlement approval hearing will be posted here, once it has been scheduled.
March 11, 2016: A tentative settlement has been reached
The parties have reached a settlement of this class action. The settlement will require the government to pay monies into a fund that will be used to pay settlement benefits of $2,500.00 to each Class Member. For more details see the draft Notice of Settlement below.
The matter will now proceed to a settlement approval hearing at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on June 24, 2016.
Please review the Notice of Settlement Approval Hearing carefully. It explains the process going forward and what to do if you would like to make submissions to the court.
You may also review the draft Notice of Settlement, which will be used at the settlement approval hearing (the draft Notice will be completed at that time, if the settlement is approved).
December 22, 2014: Read the Notice of Certification
The formal Notice of Class Action Certification is now available, which all employees and former employees of Community Care Access Centres should read carefully.
November 25, 2014: The class action has been certified
This action has been certified as a class proceeding by Order of the Honourable Justice Conway.
Practice Areas
Class Action Litigation, Employment Law, Pension & Benefits Law