Two former Cardinal Logistics Management Corp. truck drivers hit the delivery carrier with a putative class action Wednesday accusing it of violating California wage laws.  In a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, former Cardinal Logistics employees Donald Sterling Hodge and Lerry Moppin claim the company refused to pay its drivers proper overtime, denied them required meal and rest breaks and otherwise failed to act in accordance with state labor laws.  “Defendants promised its drivers 'fair pay for fair work' in the Cardinal Logistics Driver Manual,” the complaint said. “However, plaintiffs, and upon information and belief other drivers, were not paid for all hours worked, including without limitation time spent conducting [pre- and post-trip] vehicle inspections, and completing related paperwork, tying down loads, refueling, stopping at scales, stopping for trip delays, stopping to conduct vehicle inspections during trips, stopping for accidents and stopping for law enforcement.”  The complaint also states that drivers were required to answer their cell phones at all times during their shifts, including during meal and rest breaks.

The lawsuit further alleges that Cardinal Logistics failed to keep accurate records of the hours its drivers worked and did not provide them with itemized wage statements.  Hodge and Moppin are seeking to represent a class composed of all current, former and future California-based truck drivers employed by Cardinal Logistics going back at least four years and running through the beginning of a trial in the case.  The complaint estimates that the proposed class has between 50 and 100 members.  The plaintiffs are also asking the court to certify a subclass of employees who worked primarily for Cardinal Logistics client AutoZone, as both Hodge and Moppin did. That subclass includes approximately 30 employees, according to the complaint.  “Unless this case proceeds as a class action, defendants will likely continue their illegal labor law violations with impunity,” the complaint said. (click on link to read full story)