Misclassification in the Road Transportation
Nov 14, 2024
Check out this Government of Canada page, which provides truck drivers with essential information on employee misclassification, its impact on their rights, protections under the Canada Labour Code, steps to report misclassification, consequences for employers, and key differences between employees and independent contractors in the trucking industry.
What is Employee Misclassification?
Misclassification is when an employee is wrongfully classified as an independent contractor. They are then denied rights and protections.
For example, a boss treats you like an independent contractor. But, you work fixed hours for the company and use its equipment. In the road transportation industry, this often leads to classifying truck drivers as independent contractors, when they should be employees.
Some companies misclassify employees as contractors on purpose to:
- lower hiring costs
- simplify payroll
- keep a flexible working arrangement with the misclassified worker
Whatever the reason, misclassification is illegal under the Canada Labour Code (the Code).
Misclassification is illegal even if:
- the employee agrees to it
- the worker is an independent contractor under other laws, including tax or provincial or territorial laws. They may still be classified as an employee under the Code
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