Lawsuit Alleges Vulcan, Southeast Division Logistics Failed to Pay Drivers Proper Overtime

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Vulcan Materials Company and Southeast Division Logistics, LLC have misclassified drivers as independent contractors and failed to pay the workers proper wages, according to a proposed collective action.

The 17-page lawsuit alleges the defendants, who operate quarries and produce, sell and distribute construction materials such as crushed stone, sand, gravel, asphalt and ready-mixed concrete, exercise “pervasive control” over truck drivers’ job duties and therefore should be described as joint employers. According to the case, Vulcan and Southeast have misclassified drivers as independent contractors, rather than bona fide employees, to avoid paying overtime wages and workers’ compensation, decrease tax liability and pass on their operating costs to workers.

“Employers like Defendants may not lawfully avoid these legal obligations by misclassifying workers as ‘independent contractors,’ who, by their terms and conditions of engagement, are employees,” the complaint alleges. “Plaintiff and the FLSA Collective are economically dependent for their financial livelihood on Defendants; and Defendants are entirely dependent on them to deliver the products they sell to their customers.”

Per the case, drivers are required to sign “Independent Contractor Service Agreements” in order to work for the defendants. Despite classifying drivers as independent contractors, Vulcan and Southeast, the suit says, exercise a significant amount of control over the workers’ job duties, including by:

• Requiring regular communication with Vulcan employees;
• Having the workers be supervised by Vulcan managers;
• Inspecting drivers’ vehicles;
• Assigning times to report to work and make deliveries;
• Tracking drivers’ progress using GPS;
• Requiring workers to install cameras in their trucks so the company can observe and monitor their work;
• Requiring workers to call their customers ahead of arrival;
• Requiring drivers to complete all work assigned to them and not permitting them to refuse assignments without repercussions;
• Requiring that workers adhere to the company’s customer service standards; and
• Requiring that drivers register their vehicles under the defendants’ U.S. Department of Transportation number/operating authority.

According to the lawsuit, drivers, who are not permitted to perform work for competitors while working for the defendants, provide services that are “integral and essential” to the companies’ business and are economically dependent on Vulcan and Southeast for their livelihood. The suit says these circumstances are characteristic of employees, not independent contractors.

Nevertheless, the case claims drivers are refused overtime pay for the weekly hours they work in excess of 40 and paid instead a flat rate per delivery in amounts unilaterally determined by the defendants and with deductions for various forms of mandatory insurance.

The plaintiff says he typically works 11- to 12-hour shifts each day from Monday to Friday without being paid in accordance with state and federal law.

The lawsuit looks to cover anyone in the U.S. who has worked for the defendants as drivers or in another similar position within the past three years.

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