A California federal judge gave preliminary approval Monday to a $5.2 million settlement in a class action brought against FedEx Freight Inc. by 1,278 truck drivers alleging it withheld wages and pressured them to skimp on meal and rest periods.  The suit, originally filed in California court in 2007, alleged a slew of labor law violations on behalf of about 1,300 line haul drivers who ran routes throughout the state, about 50 of whom opted out of the class action, according to the complaint.  U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh signed off on the settlement, which was reached July 22. The order is likely to end a four-year court battle that included failed mediation, cross motions for summary judgment in March and attempts by the shipping giant to decertify the class.  “The settlement amount is fair and reasonable to class members when balanced against the probable outcome of further litigation,” Judge Koh said.

The judge scheduled a final settlement hearing for Jan. 26 and set an Oct. 10 deadline for the defendant to notify all members of the class, which comprises line haul drivers who worked for FedEx's West Coast shipping arm between June 2003 and July 2009.  According to the suit, the company did not pay its West Coast drivers for time spent on government-mandated truck inspections or compensate them for time spent on long-haul layovers.  The plaintiffs also ripped a company bonus system that rewarded drivers for arriving on time, saying it discouraged them from taking meal and rest breaks. Drivers were rewarded, often up to several hundred dollars per month, for staying on schedule — an incentive that the plaintiffs said encouraged them to skip breaks.  FedEx argued in court documents that the per-drive rate included the roughly 30-minute inspections, and that the drivers were not entitled to compensation for layover time because they were not required to perform any work. About three-quarters of the runs during the class period were such runs, during which drivers stay overnight at a hotel between long routes. (click on link to read full story)