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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Slew of Labor Gripes Against May Trucking

VISTA, Calif. (CN) - A class action makes a welter of complaints against May Trucking Co., including unfair wages, overtime violations, illegal deductions - and even charging drivers to cash their paychecks.

Lead plaintiff Scott Nance says May Trucking, based in Salem, Ore., paid him just $50 a day during his "entry level driving program," during which he and other drivers work more than 10 hours a day for 2 months.

He says May pays drivers only for time behind the wheel - not for time spent loading and unloading trucks - and that it stiffed him for his last paycheck.

Nance claims that May, which operates a fleet of more than 900 trucks nationwide, illegally deducts money itemized as "Oregon Work Co." from truckers' paychecks to cover its own costs of doing business.

He claims that May's wage statements are inaccurate, to the company's advantage: "The wage statements that defendant provides to truck drivers do not identify all wages owed. ... Defendant ... does not provide its truck drivers with itemized timely wage statements that accurately identify the numbers of hours worked or the amount of compensation due to them for their work."

And, Nance says, truckers cannot collect their wages until the day after payday, and must use a company-issued Comdata card and pay a fee to collect it: "Defendant pays truck drivers using a 'Comdata' card. Wages are automatically transferred to a Comdata account, but funds are not readily available to the employees without charge. If truck drivers want to withdraw funds from the Comdata account via an ATM machine, for example, truck drivers must pay a fee. In addition, funds were not available in the plaintiff's Comdata accounts until the following business day after the pay date."

The Superior Court complaint describes May's policies as "unfair ... immoral, unscrupulous, unethical [and] deceitful," and claims it "causes substantial injury to the plaintiff and the class, and provides defendant with an unfair competitive advantage over those employers who abide by the law and properly compensate their employees in accordance with the law."

Nance seeks class damages and restitution on seven counts, including failure to pay wages, failure to provide itemized wage statements, failure to indemnify for employee's expenses, and violations of California Business & Professions Code.

The class is represented by Allison Goddard.

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