Los Angeles Sues 3 Port Companies for Driver Misclassification

Los Angeles City Hall Photo: City of Los Angeles

The City of Los Angeles filed lawsuits against three port trucking companies, alleging that each avoided paying drivers proper wages and benefits by intentionally misclassifying hundreds of truckers as independent contractors.

City attorney Mike Feuer announced the separate lawsuits filed against CMI Transportation, K&R Transportation California, and Cal Cartage Transportation Express, three trucking companies that operate at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The lawsuits allege that the companies purposely classify their drivers as indepenedent contractors instead of as employees to avoid obligations to pay employee benefits, such as unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, minimum wage, and reimbursement for business expenses. The alleged misclassification also allows each company to avoid paying applicable state taxes, shifting the responsibility to the drivers.

"We allege these port trucking companies take advantage of hundreds of hard-working drivers, requiring them to pay onerous expenses just to do their jobs, while leaving them without basic benefits and protections – all to boost the companies' profits," said Feuer. "It's wrong and we're fighting to stop it."

The lawsuits argue that CMI, K&R and Cal Cartage exerted near complete control of their drivers' assignments and work details, so they could not be fairly considered independent contractors under California law. The suit also alleges that by using leasing schemes for trucks, the company severely limits the ability of drivers to pursue work form other companies.

The lawsuits seek to prohibit each company from continuing to engage in the practices and adopt measures that immediately remedy violations. The lawsuit also seeks restitution of any money or property the companies acquired or retained as a result of the alleged business practices, as well as civil penalties of up to $2,500 for each violation.

Last month the Los Angeles City Council directed Feuer to submit a written ...Read the rest of this story

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Environmental Group Urges EPA to Maintain Glider Kit Standards

Photo: Tom Berg

Environmental advocates, state attorneys general and others are urging the Environmental Protection Agency to maintain the previous administration's regulation restricting the use of glider kits under the Greenhouse Gas Phase 2 rules, calling the current efforts to reverse the rule at odds with the Clean Air Act.

Last November, the EPA moved ahead with its promise to repeal the glider provision found in the 2016 GHG rules. The EPA's proposed repeal contends that glider kits should not be included GHG regulations because glider vehicles are not technically “new motor vehicles” and glider engines are not “new motor vehicle engines," and thus are not subject to the EPA's authority on environmental regulations.

In a phone conference Monday, the Environmental Defense Fund challenged this reading as intentionally misrepresentative of the CAA, saying it went against the principles upon which the legislation was founded.

“For EPA to propose an interpretation of the Clean Air Act that would exclude these extremely high-polluting trucks from emissions standards is not only an unreasonable reading of the plain text of the CAA, it's also at odds with and severely undermines the core purpose of the Clean Air Act,” said Alice Henderson, EDF attorney.

EDF representatives also pointed out that industry stakeholders didn't challenge the EPA's authority over glider kits at the time the Phase 2 standards were being written.

In fact, some of those stakeholders late last year signed a letter supporting the original mandate. The letter, signed by executives from Volvo Group North America, Cummins, and Navistar, stated that glider kits should not be used to bypass currently certified powertrains.

In addition, a coalition of 12 attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington filed a comment strongly opposing the glider rule repeal, ...Read the rest of this story

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