Daniel Lublin of Whitten & Lublin will be one of the lead lawyers in an upcoming RBC class-action lawsuit. The $800 million claim will be on behalf of thousands of investment advisors who did not receive their proper vacation pay entitlements.

In the midst of RBC reporting impressive revenues, the RBC class-action lawsuit will claim that some of those profits were boosted by short-changing their employees of their statutory minimum entitlements. The allegations include that RBC has paid vacation pay based only on salary, and not the significant commissions and bonuses that employees in these roles generally earn.

The Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) requires employees to be paid a minimum of 4% or 6% vacation pay on their gross wages, depending on their tenure with their employer. Wages are given a wide definition by the ESA and include monetary remuneration owed under the terms of an employment contract, among other things. The courts have determined this to include the commissions and non-discretionary bonuses earned by employees, which for many people will make up a significant proportion of their income.

Commissioned employees should be receiving vacation pay on their entire compensation and not just their base salary. As claimed in this lawsuit, RBC’s short-changing vacation pay has resulted in significant underpayment for thousands of RBC employees.

While RBC has taken the stance that all their employees are fairly compensated, we will need to wait to hear their formal response to the claim to understand their full position.

The RBC class-action lawsuit is one of five proposed class actions to be launched against banking and insurance companies for outstanding vacation pay, seeking a total of $1.2 billion. RBC has been named in three of these five lawsuits. It is likely that the increasing awareness and demand for proper vacation pay based on an employee’s entire compensation could open the floodgates for similar claims across Canada as other employees realize that they have not been paid correctly.

Employees who believe they are not being compensated properly should contact Whitten & Lublin to better understand their workplace rights or to explore the viability of a claim during these unprecedented times. We at Whitten & Lublin are happy to provide insight and advice into your specific circumstances. If you are looking for employment lawyers and would like more information about what Whitten & Lublin can do for you, please contact us online or by phone at (416) 640-2667 today.

Note: The allegations against RBC have not been proven in court.