Limo Drivers Settle Overtime Case for $3.5 Million

Limo drivers are hardworking people.  They routinely work 12 to 14 hour days.  And just as routinely, they are victims of wage theft by not getting the overtime compensation they deserve.

This week, Sunny's Limousine Service, Inc. of New York agreed to pay 3.5 Million Dollars to settle a class action brought on behalf of hundreds of limo drivers who were not paid the overtime they deserved.  According to the lawsuit, Sunny's allegedly misrepresented the amount of fares and gratuities collected when it paid the drivers based on a percentage of each fare, and when the pay structure shifted to an hourly basis, hours worked weren't properly tracked and some weren't paid for at all, and others didn't get the proper overtime rate.  The suit also claimed that, until August 2013, the drivers didn't get any premium overtime pay despite working roughly 72 to 82 hours per week.

Limo companies here in Connecticut are also getting sued for similar actions.  The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Premier Limousine.  I myself am involved in class-action lawsuits against Hoyt Livery, Inc., Serlin International Limousine, Rudy's Limousine Service, Inc. and Elite Limousine.  Our hope is that the limo industry will clean up its act and start paying its drivers according to the law.

Progressive Sued For Not Paying Overtime to Auto Appraisers

It has been a while since we’ve seen a major insurance company sued by its automobile damage appraisers for overtime.  The last few to hit the Courts of Appeals resulted in rulings against them.  Progressive Casualty Insurance Company was just sued last week by two automobile damage appraisers who claim that they, and all other MRRS (Progressive calls them “managed repair reps” or “MRRs;” they are also called "Claims Adjusters -- Auto Damage") should have been paid overtime when they work more than forty hours per week.

There is a very informative post on this topic by Richard Hayber of Hartford.  The general rule seems to be that automobile damage appraisers whose primary duty is to prepare damage estimates and reach an agreed price with the auto-body shop are entitled to overtime pay.  When the auto appraisers spend time negotiating with the insured over the value of a totaled vehicle, their duties start to look more like claims adjusters (who usually don’t get overtime pay). 

This latest lawsuit quotes from job postings which list the duties of the position.  Those duties do not include negotiating overt total losses.  The case is being handled by the Hayber Law Firm in Hartford.  It asserts only the Fair Labor Standards act.  This law gives other employees the chance to join the case just by signing a Consent Form and filing it with the court. 

This case will be worth watching.  Earlier decisions in the District of Connecticut were favorable to automobile damage appraisers, including Reich v. AIAC in 1994 (summary judgment for the appraisers), and Neary v. Metropolitan Property and Casualty Company in 2007 (defense motion for summary judgment denied).