The plaintiffs, long-time kitchen cabinet delivery and installation workers who had been reclassified from employees to purported independent contractors in 1987, sought damages after termination without notice.
The court held that the relationship fell within the intermediate category of dependant contractors, emphasizing the plaintiffs’ near exclusivity, the defendant’s effective control, the integration of their work into the defendant’s business, and the absence of any real entrepreneurial opportunity.
Having regard to their long prior service and the overall relationship, the court awarded 26 months’ reasonable notice damages.
The action against one incorrectly named corporate defendant was dismissed without costs.
