KPMG's Canadian arm found itself on the receiving end of a class-action lawsuit, claiming that the firm did not properly compensate employees for their overtime work or denied them overtime compensation altogether.
The case, filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, applies to all employees of KPMG LLP, including lawyers and non-chartered-accountant staff, who worked more than 44 hours a week, were not paid overtime, and were not exempt under applicable regulations.
"The allegations are that certain employees in our view who should have been paid overtime were not," said Jonathan Ricci, a partner with the law firm of Juroviewsky and Ricci, which filed the suit in conjunction with Kenneth Alexander of another firm, Ball and Alexander. Ricci is not certain when the case will go to trial, but expects that, like many class-action suits, it will take a long time to proceed through the court system.
KPMG responded that it provides a "competitive" compensation and benefits package for employees. "Our comprehensive compensation practices include overtime policies which comply with applicable legislative requirements," said the firm in a statement. "We have only recently received this lawsuit and will be reviewing it in detail with our counsel before making any further response."
KPMG LLP spokesperson Shilpa Kotecha emphasized that the Canadian firm is a separate entity from KPMG USA and that the U.S. firm is not implicated in the class-action suit.
