According to a California wage and hour class action lawsuit, a California federal judged recently revealed that FedEx Freight Inc. has agreed to a $3.75 million settlement to resolve allegations of violating California break laws.
The company has been accused of failing to adequately pay 1,600 of their truck drivers the required minimum wage rates, violating both state and federal wage laws. U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd had unsealed the parties’ motion for early approval of the settlement in February 2016.
The terms of the $3.75 million settlement were recently public with 30% of the money designated for legal costs. The settlement also calls for a represented fee of $25,000 for lead plaintiff and former FedEx truck driver Roy D. Taylor.
According to a FedEx spokesperson, the alleged wage and hour violations are baseless and that the company only agreed to the settlement to end the expensive litigation.
In April 2016 Judge Drozd gave preliminary approval to the settlement, stating the certified class of truck drivers had adequately proven there were wage and hour violations and that the claims were reasonable.
“The settlement provides for a substantial payment, given the size of the class and nature of the alleged violations at issue,” Judge Drozd said last month.
According to the wage and hour class action suit, Taylor had filed legal action in 2013, alleging the company had failed to pay minimum wage to the drivers that were logging their hours based on mileage.
These logs did not include the activities for missed breaks and off-the-clock duties that occurred during the driving routes. The company allegedly failed to produce accurate wage statements and did not reimburse any missed meal breaks.
Overview of California Break Laws
Under California wage laws, non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime benefits by being paid 1.5x the hourly rate if the employee works over 40 hours in a work week or over eight hours in a single work day.
California is one of the leading states in the nation for wage and hour rights, looking out for the hard working employees of the state. There are also a strong number of California break laws, with companies required to give breaks and rest periods every few hours in the work day.
If the employee does not receive breaks during the work day, they must be compensated on their next paycheck. The truck driver class was certified in July 2015, which consists of all California based FedEx drivers who made “road runs paid on a piece rate basis” from January 2012 to December 2015.
A final approval hearing for the proposed wage and hour settlement is scheduled for July 19, 2016.
This class action wage and hour lawsuit is Taylor v. FedEx Freight, Inc., Case No. 1:13-cv-01137, in the U.S. District Court for Eastern California.
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