Truckers’ misclassification lawsuit reaches modest settlement

Less than $1 an hour. That’s what at least one truck driver claims to have received for a week’s worth of work while driving for Channahon, Ill.-based Forsage Logistics Inc.

The claims from that driver and others recently led to a settlement. However, the settlement may not put a dent in what the truck drivers believe they are owed.

If approved, the settlement ends a relatively short dispute alleging the trucking company paid drivers well under the state and federal minimum wage by unlawfully deducting wages and forcing them to bear certain expenses.

The lawsuit is a classic misclassification dispute, alleging that Forsage had extraordinary control over the truck drivers it signed on as independent contractors. Truckers would work 70 hours a week only to receive a paltry paycheck.

According to the lawsuit, interstate truck drivers were required to sign an independent contractor agreement to drive for Forsage. Despite their employment status, drivers had little control over their operations. The company’s control over its independent contractor drivers included:

• Drivers were not allowed to have their own customers.
• Drivers were not allowed to negotiate rates with customers or brokers.
• Drivers could not choose their own routes.
• Any time off required timely advance notice to Forsage. Drivers faced discipline or termination if they failed to notify the company of time off.
• All trucks, which Forsage owned, included GPS tracking and the company’s logo.
• Equipment had to be serviced at Forsage’s Illinois yard.
• Drivers were required to submit all bills of lading, logbooks and other required paperwork to Forsage.

Essentially, independent contractor truck drivers were at the mercy of Forsage’s dispatchers, policies, procedures and directives.

Independent contractors were paid a percentage of each load hauled. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit claimed unlawful deductions were taken from their paychecks, including insurance, escrow, truck cleaning and maintenance/repairs.

Those deductions would come to thousands of dollars per week and were never authorized by the truck drivers. One Forsage truck driver claimed he received a $69 paycheck after working 70 hours in one week.

“Although Forsage classified plaintiffs and other delivery drivers as independent contractors, the behavior and financial control manifested over the drivers by Forsage demonstrates that they were employees of Forsage,” the lawsuit states.

Former and current independent contractors for Forsage filed the lawsuit in February 2024. In March, the lawsuit was granted class-action status. A settlement was reached a few months later. However, the truck drivers are not getting much back.

According to the settlement agreement, Forsage will fork over $45,000 to end the case.

After attorney fees, independent contractors who drove for the company will have to split $30,000.

The settlement agreement states that this amount will come to “$34.24 for each week of employment for any alleged minimum wage violations.” Put another way, that’s reimbursement for 2.28 hours of unpaid compensation per week based on Illinois’ $15 per hour minimum wage.

Attorneys for the independent contractors indicated that taking the case further would risk getting nothing at all. The agreement points to Forsage’s “precarious financial condition” when explaining that “continued litigation presents a very real risk that (Forsage) would file for bankruptcy and/or that Forsage would cease operations, resulting in a significantly reduced recovery, or no recovery at all.”

Neither Forsage nor attorneys for the plaintiffs could be reached for comment. As of press time, court approval of the settlement was pending. LL