Drivers Wait for Final Approval in $2M California Misclassification Lawsuit

A class of delivery drivers is waiting for final approval from a federal court for their $2 million agreement in a California misclassification lawsuit.

According to the Genesis Intermodal Delivery drivers’ California misclassification lawsuit, the company misclassified these drivers as contractors rather than employees in order to avoid paying certain benefits and other expenses that would be granted to employees.

After the class action California misclassification lawsuit reached preliminary approval, notice of the class action agreement was sent to nearly 200 eligible delivery drivers who had allegedly been misclassified as contractors.

The lead plaintiff, Jorge Cabrera, alleges that Genesis Intermodal misclassified workers as independent contractors despite performing the duties of employees, and also failed to pay meal and rest period wages or provide accurate pay stubs.

Though Cabrera initially filed the California misclassification lawsuit in California state court in September 2014, it was eventually removed to California federal court in March 2015.

The California misclassification lawsuit agreement requires that Genesis Intermodal Delivery Inc. pay around $1.44 million total to the 197 members involved in the class, amounting to a substantial sum per class member.

The highest payment a class member will receive is around $20,000, and the average is around $7,300.

The payment amounts are determined by the number of weeks each class member worked during an allotted period of time. The rest of the agreement money will go to attorneys’ fees, the lead plaintiff, and other payments.

The class action California misclassification lawsuit was not successful in all of its claims; indeed, had it won all of its claims, class members could have expected to win ten times the agreement amount.

“The parties reached a fair compromise that does not excessively reward class members for weak claims, or sell them short for strong claims…The settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable. It will result in substantial payments to class members, it is noncollusive, and was achieved as a result of informed, extensive litigation, and arms-length negotiations conducted by counsel for respective parties who are experienced in wage and hour class action litigation and with the assistance of professional mediator,” the class said in a statement regarding the California misclassification lawsuit deal.

Filing a California Misclassification Lawsuit

A number of delivery drivers who have pursued complaints or litigation have been found to actually be employees of companies that had misclassified them as independent contractors.

Indeed, California and federal law has suggested based on past litigation that delivery drivers are not independent contractors, but employees of their delivery company.

If you work as a delivery driver for a company like Genesis Intermodal, you may be misclassified as an independent contractor rather than an employee, which can take away many essential rights and benefits.

The California Misclassification Lawsuit is Cabrera et al. v. Genesis Intermodal Delivery Inc., Case No. 5:15-cv-00551, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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