S-Trip student travel firm agrees to pay $450,000 to former trip leaders and change rules going forward

More than four years after the launch of a class action lawsuit against a company that ran student travel excursions, an Ontario court has approved a settlement between the organization and former trip leaders who argued they were not paid as employees.

The suit alleged trip leaders with travel firm S-Trip were classified as volunteers while leading student trips, but in reality were doing the work of employees.

The firm's Toronto-based parent company — I Love Travel — has now agreed to a $450,000 settlement and to reclassify staff on future trips as employees rather than volunteers.

"I was very relieved, very happy for it … just knowing that something can be changed that is going to impact others and not just myself," said D'Andra Montaque, the lead plaintiff on the case who led a student trip to Cuba in 2017.

The settlement was approved by an Ontario Superior Court judge on June 27, 2022, according to court documents.

The case is a victory for Montaque and other former trip leaders who are now eligible to be compensated for the work they did. As the first class action litigation of its kind in Canada, the case has the potential to impact employment law moving forward, the judge who presided over the litigation said.

Some experts say we can expect to hear more cases like this and the settlement is a sign that the courts are adapting to the new realities of some...

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