The complaint alleges that Defendants unlawfully classified their drivers as “independent contractors” and/or “owner operators”, rather than employees, and failed to pay overtime.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN, March 12, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ — On March 10, 2021, a driver (“Plaintiff”) filed an overtime lawsuit against Vulcan Materials Company (“Vulcan”) and Southeast Division Logistics, LLC (“Southeast”) (“Defendants”). He asserts claims individually and on behalf of other drivers nationwide. Defendants operate quarries and produce, sell, and distribute construction aggregates and construction materials throughout the United States. Defendants’ products include crushed stone, sand, and gravel, and other materials including asphalt and ready-mixed concrete. Defendants have engaged Plaintiff and other drivers to transport their products from their quarries to customer sites.
The Complaint alleges that Defendants unlawfully classified Plaintiff and other similarly situated drivers as “independent contractors” and/or “owner operators”, rather than employees, and failed to pay overtime as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Specifically, the Complaint alleges, among other things, that Plaintiff and other drivers are economically dependent on Vulcan and Southeast, and that Defendants direct and control the ways in which drivers perform their duties. These controls include assigning, scheduling, tracking, and supervising their work, often resulting in heavy workloads that require overtime hours.
Plaintiff brought the case as a putative collective action under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) seeking to recover unpaid overtime compensation, liquidated (double) damages, and other statutorily-permitted relief.
David Pogrel, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys stated, “Vulcan Materials has adopted a business model that has become all too common in the transportation and construction industries. The company requires its drivers to sign an “independent contractor” agreement that claims to give them freedom and flexibility, with the veneer of a separate business, but it controls the drivers’ work and assignments like they are company employees. As employees, Plaintiff and similarly situated drivers are entitled to overtime and other protections of the FLSA. Our lawsuit seeks relief for Vulcan drivers across the country who have been misclassified.”
Plaintiff is represented by Aaron Kaufmann, David Pogrel and Afroz Baig of Leonard Carder, LLP, which has offices in Oakland and San Francisco, California, Reena I. Desai of Nichols Kaster, PLLP, which has offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California, and John T. Sparks of Austin & Sparks, P.C. in Atlanta, Georgia. The case is entitled, Bailey et al. v. Vulcan Materials Company and Southeast Division Logistics, LLC, Case No. 1:21-cv-00998 (Northern District of Georgia).
Additional information about the case and how drivers can make a claim in this case can be found at www.nka.com or by calling Nichols Kaster, PLLP toll free at (612) 256-3224.
Nichols Kaster, with more than thirty lawyers in offices in Minneapolis and San Francisco, represents employees and consumers in individual, class, and collective action lawsuits throughout the country. The firm has recently received a First Tier ranking on the 2021 Best Law Firms List in Minneapolis for Litigation-Labor and Employment by U.S. News-Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms.”
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