Schneider National to Pay $28 Million to Settle Suit

Schneider National Carriers will pay $28 million to settle a lawsuit by California drivers.
Schneider National Carriers Inc. will pay $28 million to settle a class-action lawsuit by California truck drivers who claim the company shorted them on pay.The resolution of the case, which dates to 2008, marks the second time in two and a half years that Schneider has agreed to a multimillion-dollar class-action settlement after workers alleged they were underpaid. In May 2014, the firm agreed to pay $21 million to settle a lawsuit brought by warehouse workers at three California distribution centers Schneider operated for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

In both cases, Schneider denied any wrongdoing, and said it settled to resolve the litigation. The latest settlement comes as Schneider prepares for a planned public offering of its stock.

Based in Green Bay, Schneider is one of the largest trucking companies in the country, and part of a business with about $4 billion in revenue last year.

The settlement approved last week by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White covers 7,700 people who worked for Schneider between November 2004 and May 2016 as intermodal, dedicated or regional drivers.

The drivers’ accusations touched on various aspects of the complicated pay system in trucking, where employees often are not paid by the hour.

Among the allegations were that Schneider didn’t fully compensate the drivers for time they spent waiting for customers or dispatch, and for such nondriving tasks as inspecting trucks, fueling them and completing daily paperwork. The drivers also said Schneider didn’t properly pay them for all the miles they covered, and didn’t provide meal and rest periods required under California law.

Schneider denied all of the allegations.

The drivers will share about $18 million of the settlement amount. Their attorneys will get $9.3 million, and some money from the pool will go to cover costs.

The 2014 settlement covered some 1,800 workers at warehouses in Mira Loma, Calif., east of Los Angeles. Walmart contracted with Schneider to run the warehouses, and Schneider in turn contracted with two smaller companies to handle loading and unloading there.

The workers — “lumpers” in industry jargon — who alleged they were illegally underpaid were employees of the smaller companies, not Schneider, but the Green Bay firm was held financially liable in the case.

Schneider did not respond Wednesday to requests for comment.

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Source: www.jsonline.com www.jsonline.com

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