Are you a port trucker? Does the company you drive for force you to lease your truck and then deduct the expenses of operating your truck from your pay? Have you been forced to work illegally long hours against your will by threats to take your truck and keep the money you paid toward buying it? Were you fired for complaining to the company or the authorities? If any of these are true, you may be owed compensation.
It is against the law for a company to attempt to avoid employment law requirements by claiming that a worker is an independent contractor when, in fact, that worker is actually an employee under the control of an employer. Indeed, federal and state labor laws require employers to compensate all employees at the prevailing minimum wage, as well as compensate employees for the costs of equipment required for the job.
Unfortunately, a June 16, 2017 exposé by USA Today reports that many port truckers, who previously owned their own trucks and operated independently, are now little more than indentured servants to the trucking companies for whom they drive as a result of draconian lease-to-own agreements for new trucks that drivers were allegedly forced to sign or face immediate termination. Thanks to the one-sided nature of these agreements, USA Today reports that shipping companies completely control the hours and routes of drivers, allegedly requiring drivers to often drive hours far in excess of federal safety limits, all while deducting the costs of operating the trucks, resulting in take-home pay well-below the minimum wage.
These practices have led to numerous complaints by drivers to the authorities, who have determined in most cases that drivers should be categorized, under these circumstances, as employees, rather than independent contractors. As USA Today reported,
Since 2010, at least 1,150 port truck drivers have filed claims in civil court or with the California Department of Industrial Relations’ enforcement arm, known as the labor commission.
Judges have sided with drivers in more than 97% of the cases heard, ruling time after time that port truckers in California can’t legally be classified as independent contractors. Instead, they are employees who, by law, must be paid minimum wage and can’t be charged for the equipment they use at work.
Drivers also appear to have been fired in retaliation for turning down low-paying routes, missing work, or refusing to work past federal hour limits. In such cases, drivers have lost their trucks, as well as all the money previously paid under the lease toward ultimately owning the truck. Such retaliatory actions are illegal under state and federal law.
The attorneys at Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP have successfully brought lawsuits on behalf of numerous employees who have not been paid fairly or have suffered retaliation from their employer. If you or someone you know works or has worked as a port trucker, whether at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles or at another port, please contact us to discuss your legal options.