NEW YORK — A New York limousine service, Sunny’s Limousine Service Inc., has agreed to pay hundreds of its drivers $3.5 million to settle a wage and overtime lawsuit. The drivers recently requested approval of the preliminary settlement in a New York federal court. If the judge approves the settlement, it will settle both the drivers’ state and federal wage claims.
An estimated 841 class members, those who worked for Sunny Limousine at any time between March 2007 and January 2014, could benefit from the settlement. Usually, a court must grant collective action status, but in this case both parties agreed to a conditional collective action certification and avoided a court decision. After just one day of mediation both parties decided the settlement was fair and in the best interest of the drivers.
The limousine drivers claim the company violated both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor law with its pay practices. According to the lawsuit, brought in March 2013, even though the company changed its pay practices and reclassified the drivers from independent contractors to employees in 2011, the drivers never received fair wages. The drivers also claim that even when the company started paying them hourly wages, the company failed to properly track their hours. Improper tracking of “hours worked” allegedly led to drivers being underpaid, missing premium overtime pay, or not being paid at all. According to the drivers many of them worked anywhere from 72 to 82 hours a week. Additionally, the drivers claim the company only paid the drivers a percentage of each fare, and they were not told the actual amount of fares and gratuities collected. The misrepresentation of fares made it hard for drivers to double check their earnings.
In many overtime claims are the result of violations of state or federal labor laws or both. Improper time and record keeping violates both state and federal law, as does misclassifying employees. Settlement offers may address either or both of the claims. Generally, one of the provisions of the settlement is that the plaintiffs in the collective action can no longer bring a new claim based on the same details. However, if the settlement addresses both claims plaintiffs will usually be allowed to the option of accepting one or both off the offers.
Overtime laws and settlement offers can be complicated and confusing. If you believe you are owed unpaid overtime or have questions about a notice of settlement, contact our knowledgeable team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 to discuss your situation. Or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form on the top right of this page and our experienced legal team will evaluate your case. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.