Class Action Alleges TMX Intermodal Misclassified New Jersey Drivers as Independent Contractors, Owes Unpaid Overtime

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A former truck driver for TMX Intermodal claims he and other similarly situated workers in New Jersey were misclassified as independent contractors and consequently deprived of certain benefits to which employees are entitled under state law, including overtime wages.

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According to the 10-page case, the plaintiff and other workers who contracted with TMX to provide truck driving services out of its facility in Linden, New Jersey were subject to an agreement in which the trucking company would “lease” a tractor trailer from the drivers. Although TMX classified the drivers as “owner/operators” that worked as independent contractors, the plaintiff claims that the trucking company’s level of control over their day-to-day operations indicated a clear employer-employee relationship.

As the case tells it, the plaintiff and other similarly situated employees relied exclusively upon TMX for work and did not work in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business. Moreover, the suit points out that the company provided employees with the work they were required to perform each day, determined what time they had to arrive at and return to the Linden facility, required drivers to utilize electronic logging devices and complete specific shipping invoices identifying its place of business, and maintained the ability to terminate proposed class members at its discretion.

The lawsuit alleges that as a result of TMX’s “[purposeful]” misclassification, the workers were wrongfully exempted from receiving overtime protections the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law grants to bona fide employees. Under this statute, trucking industry employers must pay employees time-and-a-half wages for every hour worked in excess of 40 each week, the case relays. Per the filing, the plaintiff and other drivers regularly put in overtime hours but never received proper compensation.

“Based on their misclassification, [class members] have also been required to pay large fees in order to obtain truck driving work from Defendant, which effectively amounts to Defendant charging them for a job,” the complaint says.

The suit further claims TMX made unlawful deductions from employees’ wages for diesel fuel, taxes, EZ Pass and tolls, escrow accounts, occupational accident insurance, electronic logging devices and ACH fees.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who contracted as an “owner-operator” with TMX and provided truck driving services in New Jersey from July 2017 through the present.

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