Port truck drivers sue logistics firm

A lawsuit was filed this week alleging that Southern California units of port trucking firm XPO Logistics Inc. improperly classified drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, depriving them of wages and benefits.

The suit, which seeks class-action status on behalf of about 160 or more drivers, was the latest step in a long dispute between some drivers and trucking firms that operate at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Government officials and regulators also have entered the fray. In January, for instance, Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer sued three other port trucking companies, likewise alleging that the misclassification enabled the companies to avoid providing drivers with a legal minimum wage and employee benefits.

In the latest suit against XPO Logistics, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, three drivers alleged that the company maintained a “deliberate scheme to misclassify their truck drivers as independent contractors, thereby denying them the fundamental protections due to employees under California law.”

The suit alleges that in certain cases XPO Logistics failed to pay the minimum wage, failed to pay wages for missed meal and rest periods, and failed to reimburse business expenses as required, among other things.

Attorney Julie Gutman Dickinson told reporters on a conference call that XPO Logistics had faced litigation before, including class-action suits, along with regulatory action but “continues to misclassify workers and flout California labor laws.”

XPO Logistics said that “we know the vast majority of drivers want to maintain their independence as contractors. We’ll continue to defend this business model.”

XPO, based in Greenwich, Conn., operates 1,455 locations in 32 countries and had $15.4 billion in revenue last year.