Despite agreeing to settle with aggrieved drivers, Schneider National Carriers was stonewalled by two individuals claiming the company owes its drivers more in damages.
Trucking firm Schneider agreed to settle with around 6,000 drivers in a wage-and-hour lawsuit as one complainant and a non-class member claimed that the drivers are entitled to more than the $28 million settlement agreed upon by both parties.
Schneider agreed to settle last September, making payouts for time spent on non-driving tasks, such as vehicle inspections, rest breaks, maintenance, and loading and unloading.
However, one complainant, Walter Ellis, and one non-class member, Randall Pittman, objected to the settlement, claiming Schneider owes the drivers more than $100 million in back pay.
The lawsuit was filed in 2004, and the settlement aims to compensate drivers for lost wages accrued over a period of more than 10 years.
Ellis has a thorny history with Schneider, having had previous run-ins with the company in the courts. Pittman, according to attorneys, is a “chronic class action objector.”
If the settlement pushes through, more than $20 million will be given to dedicated and intermodal drivers, and more than $7 million to regional drivers who filed the class action suit.
