Constructive dismissal class action rejected

Constructive dismissal requires an individual assessment of each employee’s circumstances and can’t be addressed in a class action, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ruled in denying an application by a group of insurance agents against Allstate Insurance.

In Kafka v. Allstate Insurance Company of Canada, the court considered, for the first time, whether the agents’ constructive dismissal claim should be certified as a “class.” The court found the law of constructive dismissal required an individualized assessment of each plaintiff’s claim and this need for an individualized assessment was inconsistent with the purpose of Ontario’s class action regime.

The class action regime — In a nutshell