Cintas Corp. has reached a tentative settlement of a 2003 class-action complaint in federal court that alleged the company had illegally withheld overtime pay to drivers of its delivery routes.

According to a statement issued by Workers United Union, Cintas has agreed to pay $23 million to settle the matter, in line with a federal mediator’s proposal. The dispute has been in arbitration.

A judge for U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., halted its proceedings on Aug. 13 while the parties documented and made arrangements for final approval of the agreement. Court documents did not detail any terms of the “settlement in principle” to which it said Cintas had agreed.

The lawsuit alleges that Cintas misclassified route drivers as exempt employees under wage-and-hour laws in order to avoid having to pay them overtime for working in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. The union stated that it would be months before a final settlement agreement is approved by the court.
(Please click link to read full story)