Port Drivers Reach $5 Million Settlement in Misclassification Suit

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

July 15, 2016

A class-action lawsuit representing nearly 400 Southern California port truck drivers has resulted in a $5 million settlement agreement with port trucking company group QTS, ending the three-year- long suit.

The lawsuit was brought by the Wage Justice Center and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles on behalf of Latino and Korean-American port truck drivers who claimed that they had been misclassified as contract workers in order to cheat them out of the wages and benefits granted to full employees.

This is the latest in a longstanding dispute between many port truck drivers serving the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the port trucking companies who classify drivers as independent contractors. Most recently, Premium Transportation Services filed, blaming its financial troubles on driver misclassification lawsuits and legal costs. QTS was also in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings during the lawsuit.

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NY Sets Classification Rules

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

New York has joined a growing number of states tackling the issue of employment classification for commercial truck drivers. Following through on a mandate in a bill passed in January, the state’s Department of Labor released new standards this week to clarify whether a driver is an employee or an independent contractor.

“The trucking industry is vital to how our state operates, from shipping materials that make our buildings, to parts and systems that keep us safe, to the food and products we use every day,” says New York Commissioner of Labor Peter Rivera. “For too long, truck drivers have sought to have a clear standard. This law provides clarity for employers and truckers.”