Evans Delivery to Pay $2.8M to Settle Class Action Lawsuit with Drivers

A group of truck drivers have agreed to settle a class action lawsuit against their employer for $2.8 million, which they initiated because they claim they were wrongly classified as independent contractors instead of regular employees and therefore were denied benefits.

U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer granted his approval of the deal between Evans Delivery Company of Schuylkill Haven, Pa. and the truckers on Sept. 24. Under the terms of the settlement, the drivers will each get a share of $1.7 million. Their individual payments will be based on the number of drivers who opt in to the agreement and the amount of time they worked for Evans.

All told, the settlement could cover 275 truckers who drove for Evans Delivery between Nov. 8, 2014 and Sept. 24, 2020, the court paperwork indicates.

Crux of the Case Against Evans Delivery

At issue in the case was the drivers’ contention that Evans denied them a variety of compensation – including payment for breaks and wait times between deliveries, allowances for meal breaks and reimbursement of expenses, among other things – in violation of federal and state labor laws in California. The company did so by unlawfully classifying the truck drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees, the plaintiffs argued.

If Evans were able to convince a jury the drivers were, in fact, independent contractors, that “could spell the death knell for this case,” the drivers said in their motion asking for the court’s approval of the settlement. “Additionally, if this matter went to verdict, a lengthy appeal period would certainly result.”

Evans admits no wrongdoing, the proposed settlement said.

The class action lawsuit was initiated in November 2018 by three truck drivers who first filed it in California state Superior Court. Two additional plaintiffs signed on the action in April 2019 and Evans had the case moved to U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Settlement Details

The five lead plaintiffs will each receive an award of $7,500 for their roles participating in the class action lawsuit, the settlement proposal says. The plaintiffs’ lawyers will get no more than one-third of the total settlement payout, or $933,333.33, plus a maximum of $20,000.00 in expenses. The settlement administrator, who will oversee the distribution of the payout to the Class Members, will get $20,000.

Evans will also pay $50,000 in penalties to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency as part of the settlement.

Putting the Case in Context

The Evans Delivery class action lawsuit is one of several cases being litigated nationwide as workers and businesses grapple with the complex issues arising from an increasing gig economy that is based on independent contractors rather than traditional employees. Nowhere is that being felt more than in California, where state lawmakers passed the controversial Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) last year.

AB5 was meant to protect workers from being taken advantage of by employers who didn’t want to have to pay them benefits. The law went into effect in January and has been challenged ever since, especially by those in the trucking industry.

The California Trucking Association filed a lawsuit against the state government and won an injuction in court that is preventing regulators from enforcing the law against “motor carriers” while the case is hashed out in court.

The trucking association is arguing that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994, which prevents states from enforcing a law or regulation related to the price, route or service of “motor carriers,” supersedes AB5.

Meanwhile, class action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of truck drivers contesting their classification as independent contractors under AB5.

The J.B. Hunt trucking company agreed in July to settle a class action lawsuit filed against it by 312 independent contract drivers for $6.5 million. The drivers, who filed suit in U.S. Federal District Court for the Central District of California in 2019, are set to receive about $20,000 each to give up the legal fight, the industry website Freightwaves reported.

“The original suit charged that [the independent contractor drivers] performed the same tasks as company drivers, but that total compensation at times failed to meet minimum wage requirements, that rest and meal breaks were not provided, and that labor records were not kept properly,” Freightwaves reported.

The Evans Delivery Class Action Lawsuit is Santos H. Garcia et al. v. Evans Delivery Company Inc. et al., Case No. 2:19-cv- 04316 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Join a Free Trucker Overtime Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

You may qualify for legal help through this investigation under the following circumstances:

• You worked as a independent contractor driver in California;
• You live in California OR you drive through California;
• You believe you were underpaid; and/or
• The trucking company failed to honor a contract with you.

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