Muni Settles Calif. Workers’ Unpaid Travel Time Lawsuit for $8M

A group of San Francisco Muni workers have settled their unpaid travel time class action lawsuit for $8 million, claiming their travel time between busses should have been logged as work time but was not.

Four years ago, a legal battle between Muni operators and their bosses began. Originally seeking recovery for unpaid travel time, the bus drivers brought their class action lawsuit before the United States District Court.

They claim that the city failed to pay their due overtime and that these actions violated California Labor Code and San Francisco’s Minimum Wage Ordinance.

The issue lies with what the Muni operators have called unpaid travel time. They allegedly were not paid for travel time between the bus yards they clocked into and the bus yards they still needed to pull busses out of. They were also allegedly not paid for certain post-driving inspections and other periods.

Lead plaintiff Darryl A. Stitt brought the unpaid travel time lawsuit in 2012, and in 2014 a judge granted 2,500 Muni operators class status.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) recently voted to approve an $8 million settlement, far below the original ask of $395.

SMFTA Director of Transportation, Ed Reiskin, was asked if he thought the unpaid travel time settlement was fair. He replied, “If I didn’t think it was fair and reasonable,” then he would not have brought the settlement agreement to the board for approval.

Because both parties are now in agreement, the $8 million settlement only waits for the judge to approve it.

The Muni operators will receive clarification, Reiskin said, regarding when and where the unpaid travel time and overtime pay was due. This, he mentioned, is an important issue in the lawsuit.

The attorneys representing the Muni operators in this unpaid travel time lawsuit will be paid up to 30% of the settlement payout.

This settlement affects those Muni operators in San Francisco who worked between August 17, 2009 and May 2, 2014.

It should be noted that the SFMTA “specifically and generally” denied any wrongdoing and liability of any sort in this unpaid travel time lawsuit and agreement to settlement does not indicate admission of guilt.

The attorneys also commented and said that this settlement, unfortunately, may mean that going forward, Muni operators may still not recover unpaid travel time. In essence, this settlement only addresses issues in the past and does not inform any future alleged unpaid overtime or unpaid travel time.

Reportedly, Stitt may receive $25,000 as will another plaintiff, John Dudley. Other plaintiffs will recover between $3,000 and $10,000 each. Some operators who provided depositions will receive $800.

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