ANNOUNCEMENT OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF EMPLOYMENT LAW CLASS ACTION
TevlinGleadle is pleased to announce that, working closely with and assisted by representative plaintiff Peter Gregg, and in co-operation with Employer’s Counsel, we have now reached a proposed settlement of the Bonus claim for Freightliner “Exempt Staff” and the separate claim for additional notice for certain senior long service managerial employees.
After our unsuccessful attempt to have the Court not credit Freightliner with notice for the time period before the closure of the plant in September, 2002, and upon further inquiry into the remaining claims, the bonus claim and the claim for additional notice periods were determined by Peter Gregg and by us as Class counsel to be the only remaining meritorious claims.
Therefore, the proposed settlement reached with Freightliner, subject to the approval of the Court, will resolve all remaining issues in the Employment Action.
The seperate Pension Action is continuing and unaffected by this proposed settlement.
The final settlement on the Employment Claim is approximately $200,000. That amount will be apportioned to certain “Exempt Staff” who worked at Kelowna during the year 2002 and who were not transferred to Portland and based on the evidence which has been collected by class members and provided by the employer as a result of diligent searches, in many locations, over the past several years. The amount is equal to 5% of wages earned in 2002, in lieu of bonus, and is coincident with the cessation of the payment of Overtime and the granting of certain salary increases.
The settlement amounts will be subject to the normal withholding taxes required by the Government of Canada, after deduction of any legal fees and disbursements as may be approved by the Court.
The settlement and all details and provisions must be approved by the BC Supreme Court and we plan to make the application Wednesday, May28, 2008. If the settlement is approved, Class counsel will work and co-operate with Freightliner and its counsel, to get the appropriate cheques to the appropriate class members as soon as possible.
Persons interested in obtaining further information about the proposed settlement may contact TevlinGleadle at this link.