Misclassified Port Truckers Faced with Inappropriate Costs

There are roughly 12,000 truck drivers at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach in California. A good majority of those drivers, many of whom work for XPO Logistics, may be misclassified trucker drivers who are designated as independent contractors when, in fact, the circumstances under which they work indicates that they should be employees.

According to a column in the LA Times, this trend of identifying drivers as independent contractors saves companies an average of 30% when compared to meeting the financials associated with a full array of employee benefits.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters–the relevant union for truck drivers–indicate an average take-home pay of only $28,000 for misclassified port truckers after expenses are subtracted. The union has been negotiating to get that extra 30% in monetary offset added to wages for about 500 of the 12,000 drivers at the two ports.

Several legal cases where rulings have been made after evaluating the actual working conditions of misclassified port truckers seem to come to the same conclusion. Their situations look remarkably like that of an employee, regardless of the contractor label. Drivers have won many legal challenges against XPO Logistics and other companies in lawsuits and administrative hearings.

The key identifying characteristics that determine whether a driver is an employee or a contractor has to do with how much control the company exercises over the driver’s work. The companies tend to dictate driver’s schedules, drivers are disallowed from holding a concurrent contract with another agency, and the trucks which are supposed to belong to the drivers are labeled and parked on company land when not in use.

Misclassified port truckers frequently are charged a parking fee for the right to keep their company-labeled truck overnight when it fact it is ironically a requirement, not a privilege.

The misclassified port truckers are also fully responsible for all mechanical upkeep of their trucks. If a major breakdown occurs, repair costs can run into the thousands of dollars and take a bite out of an already limited wage.

The independent contractors do not generate their own business leads but operate at the whim and discretion of what should be an employing shipping company, getting all their assignments from them.

Under terms like these, misclassified port truckers seem less and less like independent agents and more like company employees.

Not only do they not have independence, they do not get the benefits of worker’s compensation if they get injured on the job. They also do not have unemployment insurance while they frequently work on renewing three-month contracts which can end at the will of the company. Finally, they don’t have the benefit of any employer contribution towards their social security tax.

According to the LA Times, there have been several hundred legal complaints filed regarding this situation with the California Labor Commission over the last six years.

Positive rulings on behalf of the misclassified port truckers have been made in roughly 375 situations. These rulings have come with substantial awards totaling $40,000,000 in unpaid wages.

Another 350 cases settled prior to going to court or when into a mediation process. Finally, about 150 cases are waiting to go to court.

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If you work as an XPO Logistics delivery driver in California, Illinois, or New Mexico as an independent contractor, you may be entitled to compensation.

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