CRST, C.R. England settle noncompete case for more than $2M

CRST International and C.R. England have reached a settlement in an antitrust lawsuit filed by truckers.

A federal judge in California has given preliminary approval of a settlement between CRST and C.R. England and a class of truck drivers. According to court documents, C.R. England will pay $925,000 while CRST will pay $1.2 million.

The lawsuit in question accuses CRST and others of colluding with one another to not hire each other’s drivers who are under contract, claiming that such an act violates antitrust laws.

Allegations include several transportation and logistics companies entering “horizontal” no-hire agreements. Specifically, they agree not to hire drivers “under contract” with any of the other defendants. “Under contract” drivers are defined to include both current drivers and former drivers who have not paid off certain loans even if the drivers are actually unemployed.

CRST also requires employees to enter covenants not to compete that prohibit them from obtaining work with any other motor carrier as long as drivers’ loans are not fully paid, according to court documents.

Neither the no-hire agreements nor the noncompete clauses have a clear time limit. Consequently, they could apply indefinitely to former employees who are unable to repay their debts to CRST and other carriers. As a result, former employees of the defendants who are unable to pay their debts may be forced to remain unemployed, disabling them to earn the income needed to pay off their debts.

Furthermore, because the noncompete clauses also prohibit former drivers from working as independent contractors, they prevent competition by defendants’ former drivers, the federal government said in its statement.

In 2020, Western Express, which also was named in the lawsuit, settled the case for $1.4 million. LL