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BMW DriveNow class action lawsuitA California workers rights lawsuit has been filed through the California Private Attorneys General Act against BMW of North America in San Francisco Superior Court.

The California labor lawsuit alleges that DriveNow, a premium electric car rental service operated by BMW, failed to adhere to California wage and hour laws and did not pay its workers minimum and overtime wages, and additionally failed to provide them with meal and rest breaks when it hired them to work as independent contractors instead of employees.

BMW Car Sharing operates DriveNow in the San Francisco Bay Area. DriveNow’s customers pick up the BMW cars in their neighborhoods and drop them off at locations near their destination.

San Francisco worked closely with DriveNow to establish designated street parking for the BMW vehicles in several of the city’s neighborhoods under a program called ParkNow, which San Francisco Mayor Lee announced in 2012.

BMW Accused of California Labor Law Violations

Plaintiff Marcello C. claims in the class action lawsuit that he and his co-workers were hired as “independent contractors” by DriveNow to manage the distribution of BMW’s rental fleet.

According to the California wage and hour lawsuit, they were assigned in teams to BMW chase vehicles and spent their days driving the rental cars from place to place, cleaning them and charging their batteries to make them ready for other DriveNow customers throughout the Bay Area.

Marcello alleges DriveNow violated more than a dozen California labor laws when it misclassified him and others as independent contractors. He says DriveNow failed to pay minimum and overtime wages, failed to provide meal and rest breaks, and required them to pay part of their wages back to the online outsourcing company, TaskRabbit, for managing the workers’ payroll.

According to Marcello, DriveNow set the drivers’ schedules, controlled all aspects of their workdays and treated them as employees, yet paid them as independent contractors to avoid California labor laws.

Marcello’s attorneys in this California labor lawsuit have been designated by California’s Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) to serve as a private attorney general in the case.

“The Private Attorneys General Act is a powerful tool for California workers. By authorizing individuals and their attorneys to enforce California’s labor laws on behalf of the LWDA, the state has been able to collect over $24 million in penalties in more than 1,255 PAGA cases brought by individuals like [the plaintiff].”

Under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), individuals serve on behalf of the state of California to collect penalties for violations of key California employment laws.

The BMW DriveNow Class Action Lawsuit is Case No. CGC545541, in the Superior Court of California, City and County of San Francisco.

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