Mears Transportation

settles a lawsuit with hundreds of chauffeurs who claimed the company wrongly classified them as independent contractors instead of employees.

Hundreds of luxury chauffeurs with Mears Transportation have entered into a $2 million settlement with the Orlandobased taxi company after they claimed in a lawsuit that Mears wrongly classified them as independent contractors — and not employees.

The suit, filed in June 2017 by initially 40 Mears drivers, ballooned into classaction litigation that included 924 eligible Mears workers. About 70 percent of that group, or 651 people, agreed to file a claim and settle with Mears on Tuesday.

But the $2 million settlement is only a fraction of the $50 million the chauffeurs were initially asking for. As part of the settlement, chauffeurs received anywhere from about $30 and $10,000 at a rate of $5.58 for every day they offered Mears services.

In the lawsuit, drivers claimed that though Mears gave them business cards, employee handbooks and uniforms, it paid them a lower rate as independent contractors. The plaintiffs argued they should have been paid the same as Mears’ van and motor-coach drivers who, attorneys said, command higher compensation.

The lawsuit claimed that Mears classified the drivers, who transport VIPs and local executives, as independent contractors “in a scheme to avoid paying minimum and overtime wages, employment taxes, and certain ordinary business expenses.”

Mears, one of the oldest taxi companies in Orlando, denied that it misclassified drivers as independent contractors or engaged in any other illegal behavior.

Roger Chapin, a spokesman for Mears, said the company is “very pleased” with the settlement.

“We settled the case for a fraction of the original claim and for less than the cost of defending a class action,” Chapin said in a statement. “As we expected, the end result preserves our business model and relationship with our independent contractors.”

Attorneys for the plaintiffs did not return requests for comment.