An amendment to the highway bill would halt at least 50 lawsuits brought by drivers against Walmart, J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and other operators of large trucking fleets, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Congress is debating a highway bill amendment that would put the brakes on a legal fight between some of the nation’s biggest trucking companies and their drivers over back pay.
Thousands of drivers in California have sued their employers, claiming they’re owed wages for meal breaks and time spent on loading and refueling. Walmart drivers are seeking over $100 million in a class action that could go to trial next year. Some of the country’s biggest trucking companies, including Swift Transportation Co. and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., are among the firms named in at least 50 suits in state and federal court.
An amendment to the massive highway funding bill passed last week by the U.S. House targets the California labor laws underpinning many of those legal challenges. The amendment, proposed by Rep. Jeff Denham (R., Calif.) would bar states from applying rules that go beyond federal standards for driver pay.
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