Judge Awards $2.2 Million in Pacer Drayage Case
A California court has awarded seven drayage drivers for an XPO Logistics subsidiary $2.2 million in an ongoing battle over worker classification that could continue with more legal action this week.
The ruling by Judge Jay Bloom in San Diego County found that Pacer Cartage workers were employees, not contractors as the company had classified them.
Alvin Gomez, attorney for the drivers, told Transport Topics that he plans to file additional worker classification cases this week, including one against Knight Transportation. Bloom’s decision followed the appeal by Pacer Cartage of a 2014 ruling by the state’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. XPO, which ranks No. 12 on the Transport Topics Top 50 list of the largest logistics companies in the United States, Canada and Mexico, acquired Pacer Cartage’s parent, Pacer last year. XPO plans an appeal, a company statement said.
Bloom cited multiple factors in the ruling, such as the making of assignments, providing uniforms and the setting of insurance requirements.
“All this evidence supports the conclusion Pacer was in control and the drivers were employees and not independent contractors,” the decision said.
Prior to Bloom's Jan. 28 ruling, workers at Pacer Cartage and other Southern California port trucking fleets had challenged contractor status.
“We believe that these decisions, coupled with the lawsuits that we have recently filed and those we intend to file in coming weeks, will force the drayage industry to make long overdue changes in their business practices to comply with state and federal labor laws,” Gomez said.
He told TT that in addition to the planned class action complaint against Knight that actions against other fleets affect about 200 drivers and five companies.
The court awards to the drivers ranged from $85,633 to $387,936.
XPO said in a statement that “the drivers in question are properly classified as contractors, and that this case is without merit."
