On April 2, 2014, the California Labor Commissioner’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement ruled that logistics company Pacer Cartage, Inc. must pay more than $2.2 million in back pay to seven short-haul truck drivers it misclassified as independent contractors, a violation of wage and hour laws that protect workers from such abuse.
By categorizing the delivery drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, Pacer avoided reimbursing drivers for various expenses and dodged having to pay them for time spent waiting to pick up loads.
The trucking industry is notorious for mislabeling drivers as independent contractors. Labor groups estimate that approximately 50,000 port truck drivers are currently misclassified nationwide, which suggests that two-thirds of the entire industry is experiencing some level of wage theft.
If you believe your employer has misclassified as an independent contractor, please contact the Sommers Schwartz’s Wage & Hour Litigation attorneys for a free consultation.
Jason J. Thompson
Jason Thompson is a nationally board certified trial attorney and co-chairs Sommers Schwartz’s Complex Litigation Department. He has a formidable breadth of litigation experience, including class action and multidistrict litigation (MDL), and practices nationwide in both state and federal courts.
