Commercial truck and transport companies commit wage theft when they illegally deny wages and overtime pay from drivers.
The U.S. trucking industry is the backbone of the U.S. economy, delivery goods and packages between manufacturers, businesses, retailers, and consumers. Unfortunately, the drivers and operators who make that happen are often victims of wage abuse and other violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Local, regional, national, and international companies cheat their truck drivers by implementing unlawful pay practices that include:
- Compensating drivers on a mileage basis only, with no compensation for meal breaks, rest periods, and non-driving activities
- Forcing drivers and operators to take compensatory time off, rather than paying them overtime
- Failing to maintain pay records or keeping inaccurate records
- Misclassifying truck drivers and operators as independent contractors instead of employees to avoid wage, overtime, and compensation requirements
- Refusing to reimburse for on-the-job and the transportation-related expenses
- Using the FLSA’s “Motor Vehicle Carrier” exception to withhold overtime from drivers that operate smaller vehicles that don’t fall under the exception
FLSA violations involve truckers in a variety of sectors, from armored transport to durable goods to food products to oil and gas. A growing number of class action lawsuits alleging wage and hour abuse have been filed against recognized peddle-run, line-haul (LTL), pickup and delivery (P&D), and over-the-road (OTR) carriers, such as:
- Brink’s
- Costco
- FedEx
- Flowers Foods
- Home Depot
- Native Oilfield Services
- Pacer Cartage
- Southern Sanitation
- Werner Enterprises