Long Haul Truck Driver Misclassification Lawsuit Seeks Class Action Status

A California plaintiff is proposing class status for the long haul truck driver misclassification lawsuit he is filing against Knight Transportation.

Plaintiff Ronnie S. is asking that the long haul truck driver misclassification lawsuit be filed on behalf of not only himself but on behalf of other employees and former employees of Knight Transportation who may have been the victims of driver misclassification.

Knight Transportation is an Arizona-based truckload motor shipping company. Ronnie says he worked as a truck driver from September 2016 until the present.  During that time he was not classified as an employee but rather as an independent contractor.

According to this long haul truck driver misclassification lawsuit, Knight truck drivers are hired to transport goods on the behalf of Knight Transportation exclusively. Ronnie claims while many of the truck drivers, like himself, are hired as independent contractors, the company also hires truck drivers that they categorize “correctly” as employees.

“There are no material differences between the manner and method in which Knight controls the persons they employ as employee Truck Drivers and the persons they employ as independent contractor Truck Drivers except that Knight deprives the independent contractor Truck Drivers of receiving their benefits under the Knight Plans,” the long haul truck driver misclassification lawsuit alleges.

The plaintiff asserts that the company has control over all aspects of the independent contractor truck drivers’ work, and as such, those truck drivers should not be classified as independent contractors. Knight allegedly provided the loads, the routes, and destinations for all of the independent contractor truck drivers. Additionally, these truck drivers received training, supervision, and instructions on how to perform their work.

Because of their status as independent contractors, this long haul truck driver misclassification lawsuit claims that they “had no opportunity for profit or loss because [Knight] only paid these employees based on the amount of miles they drove … and [Knight] controlled the particular load assignments.”

If the truck drivers were classified correctly as employees, Ronnie argues, they would be entitled to health benefits as well as overtime pay and meal and rest breaks. According to the lawsuit, as long as Knight kept the drivers as independent contractors, the company did not have to pay for these extra benefits.

Additionally, because of their status as independent contractors, the company had the “right” to terminate their work at any time. These truck drivers, according to this long haul truck driver misclassification lawsuit, were “deprived of the rights and protections guaranteed by state and federal law to employees, including their rights under ERISA.” ERISA is the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and gives basic protections for employees regarding employment benefits.

Ronnie is bringing forth claims for declaratory relief under ERISA, injunctive relief, claim for benefits under ERISA and breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA.

This Long Haul Truck Driver Misclassification Lawsuit is Case No. 5:17-cv-02337 in the United States District Court of the Central District of California.

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