C.R. England Faces California Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit

A wage and hour class action lawsuit was filed in a California state court against the national based trucking company C.R. England Inc.

The wage and hour class action lawsuit alleges that the trucking company violated California wage and hour laws by coercing prospective employees to enroll in a for-profit employee training with a deceptive promise of eventual employment.

The wage and hour class action lawsuit was initially brought by plaintiff William H. Gradie. Gradie alleges that he was essentially forced to buy a position within the trucking company.

C.R. England Inc. charged potential employees over $5,000 in order to participate in the employee training program. The company often loaned trainees the money for the training and attached an 18 percent interest rate on the money borrowed, according to the wage and hour class action lawsuit.

Gradie also claims that C.R. England required trainees to work exclusively for the company for a period of 9 months after the training was complete.

During those 9 months, C.R. England deducted the loan repayment amounts from the employee’s monthly paychecks.  Employees who were fired before the end of the required 9-month employment period were forced to pay a $2,500 penalty fee.

According to Gradie, the purpose of the truck driving training program was not to prepare drivers for employment but to create a for-profit training business.  Gradie alleges that C.R. England trained more people than they could ever possibly employ.

To resolve the issue of having too many trained employees, Gradie claims the company actively searched for reasons to fire their trained workers.  He also suggests that the company’s profits were not associated with the work performed by its employed workers but rather by the number of people it could push through the training program.

Gradie’s wage and hour class action lawsuit is requesting class certification and is asserting claims for unlawful deductions from wages, failure to provide rest and meal breaks, usury, unpaid overtime, and unlawful and unfair competition.

If class certification is granted, other employees who have had their rights violated by C.R. England may be able to join the lawsuit as a class action member.

In 2008, a similar but different wage and hour class action lawsuit was filed against C.R. England Inc. in California federal court. That class action lawsuit alleged that the company made the drivers work off the clock and denied its drivers rest and meal breaks as required by federal laws.

The off the clock wage and hour class action lawsuit was settled for over $2.45 million dollars.

California Wage and Hour Lawsuits

California employment lawyers are looking to help employees who have had their rights violated.  Employees who have been forced to work off the clock, missed meals and breaks, and have unpaid wages or unpaid overtime may be able to bring a lawsuit against their employer.

Both federal and specific California wage and hour laws protect employees from having their employers take advantage of them. Employees who bring lawsuits against their employers for wage and hour violations may receive compensation.

The C.R. England Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit is William H. Gradie v. C.R. England Inc., Case No. BC 617647 in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles.

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