Following the recent misclassification of port truck drivers working for Seacon Logix, a class action suit was filed against multiple shipping companies with the same allegations.
Filing on behalf of current and past employees as more workers step forward to partake in the suit, claims are being made that multiple labor violations, including most importantly the willful misclassification of truckers as independent contractors.
“The vast majority of port truck drivers work for one company,” said Coral Itzcalli, Senior Communications Officer for the Change to Win Port Campaign. “Most lease or rent their truck from the company that essentially makes them pay to work. For all intensive purposes, they’re employees–just not treated as such.”
The crux of Itzcalli and the truckers’ arguments is that, according to the internal logic of the legalities of independent contractors, they are their own boss. However, given the structure with which the shipping companies operate within, truckers are unable to negotiate any form of autonomous power, thereby providing the shipping company the luxury of saving immense amounts of money while driving up the loss of pay for the worker.
“The workers are working 14 to 20 hours a day, behind the wheels of trucks,” Itzcalli went on. “It’s a huge problem at the port… If they were treated as real independent contractors, they would be compensated for their expenses. They would be able to work for more than one company as a contractor or where there was better pay. They would be able to operate their trucks freely.”
Beforehand, such allegations were difficult to bring forth legally. However, in October of 2011, Governor Brown signed into law AB 459, the bill that prohibits the willful mischaracterization of workers as independent contractors, or commonly called 1099s atfer their tax form header. Essentially, the law provides a complaint procedure which permits the Labor and Workplace Development Agency to assess penalties against anyone who mischaracterizes someone as a 1099.
According to the suit filed, multiple workers are seeking compensation for willful misclassification; the failure to pay minimum wages; unlawful deductions from pay; failure to reimburse business expenses of employees; failure to provide meal and rest periods; failure to provide accurate wage statements; waiting time penalties; and unfair competition.
Read the full complaint and summons below.
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