Leonardo Trucking Driver Status and Lease Agreements Class Action

What makes a trucker an independent contractor rather than an employee? And how should truckers’ lease agreements work? The complaint for this class action brings suit against Leonardo Transportation, Inc., Bella Villa Trucking, Inc., and their owner, Dragan Gjurovski, on behalf of a plaintiff-trucker, making claims under both the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA) and the Truth-in-Leasing regulations.

Two classes have been defined for this action:

• The class for the IWPCA claim is all persons who performed work in Illinois for the defendants during the applicable statutory period.
• The class for the Truth-in-Leasing claim is all persons who drover for Leonardo Transportation as an “owner-operator” during the applicable statutory period.

The plaintiff in this case, Jamie Terry, was hired as a company driver with Leonardo sometime around September 2020 and classified as an independent contractor.

The complaint alleges that Terry came to Illinois at least once a week, either to pick up a load or to get the truck he was driving serviced by a company mechanic. According to the complaint, he was paid by the mile, with many deductions taken from his pay.

After some months, the complaint alleges, Terry told the company he was leaving to make more money and to get his own truck. At that point, the complaint says, Gjurovski told him he’d lease him a truck and Terry would be able to buy it at the end of the lease.

Terry signed a lease agreement and, as of April 1, 2021, his status changed to owner-operator. The complaint alleges that he was to be paid 88 percent of the “freight amount.”

However, according to the complaint, many deductions were made from his pay each week—for fuel, cargo insurance, physical damage insurance, accident insurance, logbooks, truck lease payments, and trailer rent payments, with other periodic deductions for registration and tolls.

The complaint alleges that these deductions are not required by law or to the benefit of drivers, and that the drivers do not give their free express written consent or authorization for them.

Then, the complaint says, other deductions were made for towing and repairs on Terry’s truck. The complaint alleges that towing, repairs, and other related expenses from his pay eventually totaled more than $36,000, and that deductions sometimes ate up his entire pay for a week with a balance carried forward to other weeks, so that in five weeks between March and August 2022 he received no pay at all.

The complaint alleges that Terry was economically dependent on the defendants in this case. It reviews conditions of his employment to show that he did not have the freedom of an independent contractor but was bound by limits imposed by them.

It also compares requirements of the Truth-in-Lending regulations with his actual truck leasing conditions and alleges that the arrangements made with Terry violate these provisions.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Employment
Tags: Employment Arrangements, Employment Violations, Leased Vehicles, Misclassifying Employees as Independent Contractors, Truth-in-Leasing