High-End Chauffeur Service Savoya Accused of Labor Law Violations in Class Action

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A proposed class and collective action has been filed against Savoya, LLC in California federal court over alleged labor law violations.

Behind the suit is a former driver who claims the luxury chauffeur service's classification of drivers as independent contractors was improper and deprived the workers of appropriate minimum and overtime wages. The case argues that drivers should have been classified as bona fide employees considering the level of control Savoya maintained over many aspects of the workers’ jobs, including the condition of their vehicles, uniforms, items stocked in their cars, interactions with passengers, which jobs they took, and insurance. The defendant “willfully” misclassified workers in order to avoid paying them proper overtime wages, the lawsuit claims, as drivers often put in more than 40 hours of work per week without receiving time-and-a-half pay.

Moreover, the case claims Savoya failed to reimburse workers for job-related expenses such as the costs of their vehicles, gasoline, maintenance, repair, cleaning, licensing, insurance payments, and cell phones and tablets they were required to use. The suit says these expenses, along with off-the-clock work for meetings, unpaid 15-minute “spot time” periods before each job, and missed meal and rest breaks, caused drivers’ pay to fall below the required minimum wage. From the complaint:

“As a result of Savoya’s misclassification of Class Members as independent contractors and the long hours Savoya have required the Class Members to work, and taking into account the employment-related expenses and deductions the Class Members are forced to bear, Savoya has failed to pay minimum wage compensation to Plaintiff and similarly situated Class Members for all hours worked.”