Illinois trucking company accused of misclassifying independent contractors
Sparc Transport is facing a proposed class action lawsuit for allegedly misclassifying its independent contractor drivers.
On Dec. 18, a driver for Channahon, Ill.-based Direct Trucking, doing business as Sparc Transport, filed a lawsuit against the company in a U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois. The plaintiff, Pedro Baez, is accusing the trucking company of illegally deducting wages from independent contractors.
Misclassification allegations
At the center of class action claims is the argument that Sparc Transport had complete control of drivers’ operations despite them being hired as independent contractors.
Baez was hired by Sparc Transport to make interstate deliveries. He drove exclusively for the company, working up to 14 hours a day, five days a week.
Pay was based on a percentage of the load. However, Baez would find deductions from his pay that totaled as much as thousands of dollars per week. Deductions included truck payments, insurance, tolls and a fuel card. Sparc Transport also charged a $5,000 escrow, which never was repaid to Baez.
Sparc Transport also failed to reimburse Baez for out-of-pocket expenses necessary for him to perform his job, the lawsuit claims. Those expenses include cell phone payments, truck maintenance/repairs and GPS service. Out-of-pocket expenses cost Baez hundreds of dollars each month.
According to the complaint, Baez did not control which loads he hauled. Rather, he was required to regularly check in with Sparc Transport dispatchers, who told Baez which loads to haul and where and when to pick them up. When making deliveries, he had to meet strict time constraints set by the company.
Baez claims that Sparc Transport exercised extensive control over his and other drivers’ work, including the number of hours worked, distance driven and deliveries performed.
Other aspects of driver control include:
- Drivers required to comply with instructions dictated by written and unwritten policies, procedures and directives regarding drivers’ duties
- Drivers required to report to or contact dispatchers employed by Sparc Transport each day, at which time drivers were provided with delivery assignments
- GPS devices installed on trucks, allowing the company to track drivers throughout the day
- Required background checks and drug testing prior to being hired
- Drivers required to give timely advance notice for any time off; failure to do so would result in discipline or termination
Typical of employee drivers, the independent contractors were not allowed to have their own customers. Additionally, they did not have the authority to negotiate pay with customers. Instead, independent contractors were compensated by Sparc Transport.
Lease purchase claims
In addition to the misclassification allegations, Baez also is claiming that Sparc Transport owes him money for payments made toward the purchase of a truck.
When Baez began working for the company in August 2021, he did not own a truck. To remedy the situation, he signed an “installment sales contract” with Sparc Transport.
According to the complaint, Baez was able to test drive the truck only in Sparc Transport’s yard. He was told that if he ever had any issues with the truck, he could trade it in after a year. The truck began experiencing serious mechanical issues after Baez started making deliveries. The company refused to exchange the truck for a different one.
Per the installment sales contract, Baez made monthly payments toward the truck. The lawsuit claims that nothing in the contract states that Baez needed to continue driving with Sparc Transport in order to purchase the truck. However, when Baez stopped working for the company, he was told that he could not use the truck to work for another company. Consequently, he had to return the truck, for which he had paid thousands of dollars.
The lawsuit seeks class action status for more than 100 similarly situated drivers. Class action claims include violations of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act.
Baez’s lawsuit also makes individual claims related to the installment sales contract, which include unjust enrichment, negligent misrepresentation and fraudulent inducement. LL
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