Legal Update: Supreme Court Announces Great News for Workers in the Transportation Industry January 21, 2019 In a decision released Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a contract worker and against the trucking company for which he and thousands of other “contractors” worked. Their employer, New Prime, had imposed forced arbitration as part of their contract, but the court determined that Mr. Olivieria and his fellow workers have the right to a trial in a court of law rather than being forced into arbitration. The decision marks a notable win for labor rights from a Court that has a reputation for siding with corporate interests over employees. Importantly, Oliviera and his fellow workers’ victory has far-reaching impact. Tuesday’s decision should drive a reassessment of the rights of contractors in the transportation industry across the country. What was this case really about? In 2015, Dominic Oliveira filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and the other long-haul drivers working for New Prime. He alleged that New Prime had misclassified him as a contractor to underpay him, a violation of federal labor law. Misclassification is important because independent contractors are not protected by laws governing minimum wage, overtime, discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination and workplace injuries. However, Oliviera had limited means to fight for his rights. Oliveira’s contract with the company declared that all disputes must be resolved through individual arbitration, a process that is costly, time consuming, and often favors the employer over workers. Moreover, forced individual arbitration prevents employees from banning together as they would in a class action lawsuit, preventing cost-sharing and taking away almost all leverage from employees. New Prime asserted that truckers who work as contractors do not have “contracts of employment” and thus do not qualify for protections granted to transportation employees. The company believed that by classifying its workers as contractors it had avoided having to face misclassification claims in court. The Court made clear that under federal statute, transportation employees, and contractors alike, are not allowed to be forced into arbitration. This victory has ensured that even contractors in the transportation industry have the right to pursue workers’ rights claims as a class in court rather than on an individual basis in arbitration. Who Will be Impacted by the Ruling? This ruling allows any worker in the transportation industry to dispute misclassification as a group in court. And even though the ruling only protects transportation workers, the implications are still wide reaching. In addition to millions of trucking employees, port workers, seaman, and railroad employees all benefit from the protections granted to Oliviera. Further, the ruling may impact employees at companies that operate in areas which haven’t historically been considered interstate transportation industries. Amazon, Grubhub, Doordash and others are currently fighting wage-theft claims by requiring workers to sign arbitration agreements. If their employees are deemed to be protected under Tuesday’s decision, that requirement may be voided, and workers for these companies may also get their day in court. About Hekmat Law Group Hekmat Law Group is a law firm founded in 2013 dedicated to fighting for employee and consumer rights. The firm represents employees in wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, unpaid wages and other employment matters as well as consumers ripped off through false advertising or other unfair (and unlawful) business practices. The firm has offices in Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY. For additional information, please visit HekmatLaw.com.
