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Update:
- A Maine federal judge has given the final green light to a settlement worth $23.1 million between Wonder Bread drivers and parent company Flowers Foods Inc. in a class action lawsuit accusing the company of labor law violations, including making improper wage deductions.
- On Apr. 26, U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker granted a motion for final approval of the settlement.
- Companies Flowers Foods, Lepage Bakeries Park Street LLC and CK Sales Co. LLC will pay $9 million to members of a certified class of workers who worked as distributors for the three companies.
- Lepage has also agreed to repurchase the distribution rights of distributors and hire distributors as employees, a move that will require an additional $6.6 million.
- “Here, the amount of monetary recovery combined with the significance of the injunctive relief, which will provide many class members with employee benefits, supports final approval of the settlement,” Judge Walker said.
Wonder Bread drivers class action settlement overview:
- Who: Drivers for Flowers Foods Inc. have reached a $9 million settlement with the bakery.
- Why: The drivers accused the company and one of its subsidiaries and another delivery company of misclassifying them as independent contractors, denying them minimum wage and overtime.
- Where: The class action was litigated in Maine.
(10/27/2021)
Wonder Bread drivers and parent company Flowers Foods Inc have called on a Maine federal judge to approve a $9 million settlement in a class action lawsuit accusing the company of labor law violations, including making improper wage deductions.
The drivers filed a joint motion with the Wonder Bread bakery company, saying that a final resolution through litigation would likely not be realized for several more years, Law360 reports.
“Both parties have a strong interest in avoiding the uncertainty and delay of further litigation and resolving this case.”
The Wonder Bread class action lawsuit was first filed in 2015 by Timothy Noll, who alleged that Flowers Foods, its subsidiary Lepage Bakeries Park Street LLC, and delivery company CK Sales Co. LLC violated federal and state laws by misclassifying distributor drivers as independent contractors, denying them the legal protections and benefits such as minimum wage and overtime.
$9M Wonder Bread class action settlement
The $9 million settlement will be distributed to the Class Members and other qualifying drivers, and plaintiffs in two other related cases against Flowers Foods will also be able to make claims.
Each Class Member will receive an amount based on the number of weeks they worked, the number of territories they were allowed to distribute Flowers Foods material in, and the state wage deductions damages they suffered, Law360 reports. As the class representative, Noll will receive $10,000.
The companies will separately pay attorney’s fees and costs of $7.5 million, the motion says.
As part of the settlement, Flowers Foods, Lepage and CK Sales will terminate all the distributor agreements they have with Maine distributors and repurchase the rights, which will cost around $3.3 million, the workers say in the motion. All current distributors will be offered employment by Lepage as route sales representatives if they are interested and qualify for that position.
The drivers and Wonder Bread bakery company reached the settlement after seven mediation sessions and months of back and forth in the courtroom.
This isn’t the first class action lawsuit Flowers has faced over wage related claims. In 2018, employees reached a $1.2 million settlement closing a class action lawsuit that accused the company of owing workers outstanding unpaid wages as employees were allegedly required to put on and take off work clothing and gear while they were off the clock.
Tell us what you think about this settlement agreement in the comments section below!
The plaintiffs are represented by Amy P. Dieterich of Skelton Taintor & Abbott; by Shawn J. Wanta, Christopher D. Jozwiak and Scott A. Moriarity of Baillon Thome Jozwiak & Wanta LLP; and by J. Gordon Rudd and David M. Cialkowski of Zimmerman Reed LLP.
The Wonder Bread Driver Class Action Lawsuit is Noll et al. v. Flowers Foods Inc. et al., Case No. 1:15-cv-00493, in U.S. District Court for the District of Maine.
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8 thoughts onWonder Bread class action over unpaid overtime results in $23.1M settlement
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I was the DOT Safety for Flower Baking Company in Lenexa Kansas in 2020, I can tell you that most if not all distributor drivers were charged a fee that wasn’t legal and most drivers did not know these fees even existed. These fees were not on the contract they signed.
Most of the drivers were side blinded with these fees leaving them no money to complete the next weeks deliveries. Also, if the office made a mistake on their pay they had to wait two weeks and an argument to get paid on the next pay period. I felt helpless to many of the drivers that relied on me to try and correct the problems. Flower Baking Company scares me!
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I am one of the distributors in Maine for Flowers and i was never asked a question about it. I find it very unfair that a agreement was reached and i was included as a class member without the fairness of hearing. This agreement is not favorable for me and many other distributors that didnt sign up for this lawsuit.
Add me to this please