Trucker Misclassification Reportedly Breeds Labor Law Violations

Some truck drivers claim that trucker misclassification leaves them working unfair hours for practically no pay.

USA Today reports that Samuel T. was a truck driver for QTS who spent over 16 hours a day transporting LG dishwashers and Kumho tires to warehouses all over Los Angeles.

Most nights, Samuel was reportedly too tired to come home to his family and instead slept in the cab of his truck in the company parking lot. Despite working to exhaustion every week, Samuel was reportedly only paid as little as 67 cents a week.

In October 2013, his condition allegedly worsened when his leased truck broke down. Samuel could not afford to fix the truck, allegedly prompting the company to fire him and seize the truck which he had paid $78,000 towards owning.

According to an investigation by USA Today, countless port truckers like Samuel are forced to become “modern-day indentured servant[s]”. These truckers are reportedly responsible for moving almost half of the nation’s container imports out of L.A. ports into warehouses and rail yards.

USA Today spent over a year investigating port trucking in Southern California and reportedly found that trucker misclassification has lead to rampant violation of labor laws. The news source reportedly discovered several examples of unlawful behavior including:

• Companies were reportedly forcing drivers to work against their will for up to 20 hours a day. These companies allegedly threatened to take the drivers’ trucks and keep the money they paid towards owning it, creating a “culture of fear.”
• Employees at three companies claimed that they were physically stopped from leaving work at the end of the day. In one example, the gates out of the parking lot were allegedly locked and a manager ordered drivers back to work.
• Truck drivers were allegedly forced to pay out of pocket for insurance, diesel fuel, parking fees, and more. These charges were reportedly in addition to the monthly charges for truck leases which drivers had to pay over $1,000 a month for in some cases.
• Workers were reportedly forced to break federal trucking laws that limit truckers to driving 11 hours each day.
• Companies allegedly repossessed trucks if workers quit, got fired, or needed time off for personal reasons.

The cause of the issue reportedly lies in trucker misclassification. Companies allegedly classify their drivers as independent contractors, which may deny them protection under labor laws and access to benefits.

According to the National Employment Law Project misclassifying employees allows companies to save up to 30 percent of payroll and related taxes which would otherwise be paid to workers.

“Misclassification also hurts law-abiding employers who play by the rules but are under-bid and out-competed,” the National Employment Law Project claims.

Luckily for truck drivers taking legal action against their employers, judges have sided with drivers 97 percent of the time by ruling that these drivers cannot be legally classified as independent contractors.

According to USA Today, at least 140 companies have been sued by one or more of their employees claiming that they were forced to work without fair pay or beyond normal legal hours.

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