Laid Off Ontario Employees Can Sue US Companies for Wages

A high tech operation made of Michigan and one Ontario company fired employees at its Guelph plant without notice after closing the facility as part of its reorganization. The Guelph employees sued the Michigan companies, claiming the entities formed a “common employer” liable for the Guelph company’s wage debts. The court ruled that the employees had a valid claim that could go to trial and ordered the company not to sell the Guelph plant’s assets until the case was decided in case they were needed to pay the employees damages [Kingston v. GMA Cover Corp., [2012] O.J. No. 4137, Sept. 5, 2012].