{"id":53335,"date":"2017-05-24T20:54:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-23T19:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/english-u-s-district-court-upholds-labor-commissioner-awards-of-almost-1-million-for-misclassification-of-port-and-rail-truck-drivers\/"},"modified":"2017-05-24T20:56:02","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T00:56:02","slug":"english-u-s-district-court-upholds-labor-commissioner-awards-of-almost-1-million-for-misclassification-of-port-and-rail-truck-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/english-u-s-district-court-upholds-labor-commissioner-awards-of-almost-1-million-for-misclassification-of-port-and-rail-truck-drivers\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. District Court Upholds Labor Commissioner Awards of Almost $1 Million for Misclassification of Port and Rail Truck Drivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

LOS ANGELES<\/span>, May 23, 2017<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ — A federal court judge has sided with California Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su<\/span>, issuing a judgment in favor of five port and rail truck drivers against XPO Cartage Inc. The ruling awards the drivers reimbursement for expenses and unlawful deductions in the amount of $958,660<\/span> plus attorney’s fees and costs. <\/p>\n

The Labor Commissioner previously issued awards to the five drivers following hearings that found they had been misclassified as independent contractors. XPO Cartage appealed the five decisions in Superior Court and the case was removed to Federal Court, where attorneys for the Labor Commissioner defended the decisions on behalf of the drivers. After a four-day bench trial and post-trial briefing, U.S. District Court Judge William Keller<\/span> ruled the cases were not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 and that all five drivers, misclassified as independent contractors, were entitled to reimbursement for expenses and unlawful deductions.<\/p>\n

“The United States District Court’s decision in this case vindicates the rights of five employees who have sought for years to recoup the deductions unlawfully withheld from their wages due to being misclassified as independent contractors,” said Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su<\/span>. “My office is dedicated to ensuring workers are paid what they are due under the law and ensuring workers are properly classified.”<\/p>\n

State courts have also upheld the Labor Commissioner’s awards in misclassification cases in the port and rail trucking industry. In 2013, Superior Court Judge Michael Vicencia<\/span> rendered judgment in favor of four port truck drivers and against Seacon Logix Inc. in the amount of $107,802<\/span>.\u00a0 The Second District Court of Appeal affirmed Judge Vicencia’s judgment in its published decision\u00a0Garcia v. Seacon Logix, Inc.<\/i>\u00a0(2015) 238 Cal.App.4th<\/sup>\u00a01476. In 2015, Superior Court Judge Ross Klein<\/span> also affirmed the Labor Commissioner’s finding of misclassification and awarded port truck driver Ho Lee<\/span> $179,390<\/span> for reimbursement of expenses and unlawful deductions following a three day bench trial. <\/p>\n

The federal courts over the past four years have consistently upheld the Labor Commissioner’s authority to adjudicate these claims and rejected complaints that wage claims filed by truck drivers with the Labor Commissioner are preempted under the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994:<\/p>\n