Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/596928
BUSINESS 28 | Overdrive | November 2015 The judge overseeing a class-action lawsuit against FedEx Ground over its classification of certain drivers as independent contractors instead of employees has approved the com- pany's $228 million settlement with 2,300 California-based drivers. The settlement will resolve the legal battle that's now stretched a decade, as the original complaint in the case was brought against the less-than-truckload giant in 2005. Truck operators for the compa- ny claimed their designation as contractors kept them from being eligible for certain state-required employee benefits such as overtime pay and rest breaks. FedEx said the settlement covers 2,300 drivers that worked with the company in California between 2000 and 2007. Similar cases in other states will proceed separately, said spokesperson Perry Colosimo. ESTES EXPRESS LINES was fined $100,000 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violating the California Truck and Bus Regulation governing diesel emissions levels for failing to install diesel particulate filters on 73 of its older tractors operating in the Golden State. CELADON GROUP INC. purchased select assets of the truck- load business of Shreveport, La.-based Tango Transport; terms were not released. Tango said it would cut up to 80 workers. PETERBILT AND KENWORTH announced they will sit out the 2016 Mid-America Trucking Show, joining all other major North American truck manufacturers in doing so. Both indicated they intend to return to the show in 2017. Get a copy of your credit report before you attempt to secure equipment financing. Your credit history could contain wrong or harmful information that you'll want to explain to a potential lender. Always be upfront about your problems. Showing you have overcome hard times demonstrates determination and strong charac- ter. Visit annualcreditreport.com to get free credit reports from the three leading credit agencies. Adapted from the 2016 Partners in Business manual, part of the program produced by Overdrive and the consultants at ATBS, the nation's largest owner-operator busi- ness services firm. The program is spon- sored by Ryder, Goodyear Smart Fleet and Truckstop.com. The Partners in Business manual is available for order at eTruckerStore.com. For more information on the program, visit OverdriveOnline. com/pib. To see three video excerpts of ATBS exec- utives Jeff Amen and Richard DeForest speak- ing at recent Partners in Business semi- nars, visit overdriveonline.com/ overdrive-extra. IN BRIEF Among California truckers, the average annual net income of own- er-operators can exceed that of com- pany drivers by more than $17,000, according to a study released by the California Trucking Association and the Southern California- based Inland Empire Economic Partnership nonprofit. The report, which uses 2013 own- er-operator data and 2014-15 gov- ernment data on company drivers, comes at a time when allegations of the misclassification of independent contractors, particularly in port dray- age operations, are on the rise as a result of union organizing efforts. CTA intermodal conference direc- tor Alex Cherin declined to com- ment on any import the study held for union/nonunion issues. The data came from 2,648 leased and fully independent California- based owner-operators in port dray- age, over-the-road and refrigerated segments. The report determined they had a $59,478 median income in 2013. The top quarter of the group had a median income of $102,087. The lowest quarter's median income was $28,297. Citing median income figures from state and federal data, the report notes that California company driv- ers earned $42,078 in 2015 and that company drivers nationwide last year earned $39,520. REPORT DETAILS CALIFORNIA TRUCKER EARNINGS PARTNERS IN BUSINESS TIP: CHECKING YOUR CREDIT REPORT Judge approves FedEx settlement The $228 million settlement, announced in June, came following an August 2014 federal ruling against FedEx in the case.