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A California truck driver has filed a class action lawsuit against Trius Trucking, alleging the company underpaid employees.
Lead Plaintiff Augustus M. said he worked as a truck driver for Trius Trucking from February through April of 2016. He said his duties included providing the daily transportation of goods for Trius in accordance with the company managers’ decisions and business policies.
During his time at Trius, Augustus claims he was paid only by piece-rate, and was not provided with minimum wages for all of his time that he was not driving, but was performing other work on behalf of the company. He also says he was not provided with paid rest breaks, which are required by California labor laws, nor was he provided with the legally mandated meal breaks.
A piece-rate pay is a system based on the number of pieces of work the worker completes. Stuffing envelopes is often paid by the number of envelopes stuffed, no matter how long the person takes to complete the task.
Augustus has filed the truck driver misclassification class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a California class of people who are or were previously employed by Trius Trucking at any point during the last four years.
How Trius Allegedly Underpaid Employees
According to the truck driver class action lawsuit, Trius allegedly underpaid employees by not paying them for time spent performing pre-trip and post-trip inspections of Trius’s trucks or for the time spent waiting for loads to be prepped for transport.
In addition, Trius purportedly failed to provide drivers with unpaid, off-duty meal periods or with paid, off-duty rest breaks.
Trius also is accused of failing to provide Augustus and other members of the class with complete and accurate wage statements because they failed to show the correct minimum wages for time worked and the allocation of legally required rest periods.
Truck Driver Misclassification
Independent contractor misclassification is very real issue that many workers face. If a worker is misclassified as an independent contractor, they may be denied the pay and benefits a full employee would be entitled to. The issue of misclassification is prevalent in almost all industries – trucking is not an exception.
California truck drivers are among the top workers who have allegedly been misclassified as an independent truck driver when they should have been categorized as employees in many cases. California has adopted a new way of defining independent contractors.
The “ABC” law defines workers as legal independent contractors only if the following conditions are met:
- The worker is not under the control or direction of the hiring company regarding the performance of the work;
- The worker performs duties outside the usual course of the hiring company’s realm of business;
- The worker is engaged in an independent trade or business of the same type as the work performed for the hiring entity.
According to an article at TruckingInfo.com, the “B” provision is the one that will make many truck drivers most likely qualify as employees.
“Most legal analysis of the ruling agrees the ABC test sets an impossible standard for most of our members to meet,” said the Western States Trucking Association at a member meeting in May.
Truck driver misclassification lawsuits have resulted in settlements in the millions of dollars.
The issue of truck driver misclassification is especially relevant during the current pandemic. Drivers who are relegated to independent contractor status are likely denied health insurance and other benefits through their employer.
“This global pandemic has exposed how major shippers and the port trucking industry have dismantled the social safety net for port drivers,” said Ron Herrera, director of the Teamsters Port Division, said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.
For professionals potentially driving through and interacting with high risk areas during the outbreak, the lack of health insurance could mean the inability to get life saving care with a COVID-19 infection.
A Los Angeles-based driver told the Los Angeles Times that he and other independent contractor drivers are worried about their health during the pandemic. The father of two allegedly went to urgent care after concerns that he had the virus, but, after paying over $800 for a chest scan, he found out that it was just the flu. However, the driver reportedly worries about his ability to get affordable medical care if he does get the virus.
Many other drivers are reportedly worried about their situation as independent contractors. Some drivers, including the interviewed LA driver, have reportedly experienced lower income in light of fewer China imports.
The Underpaid Employees Lawsuit is Case No. 1-19-cv-008844-DAD-SKO, in the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Fresno.
Join a Free Trucker Overtime Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
If you have worked as a contract truck driver and believe your carrier has failed to pay you minimum wage or overtime, or otherwise might not have honored a contract with you, you may qualify to file a truck driver lawsuit or class action lawsuit.
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