Freight driver probably an
employee,
not an independent contractor |
Brant v. Schneider National (7th Cir
08/03/2022)
http://case.lawmemo.com/7/brant.pdf
Sent to Custom Alerts™
subscribers on 08/04/2022
Brant, a freight driver, sued
Schneider National under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA),
alleging he was actually an "employee" under the FLSA, and had
been misclassified as an independent contractor.
The trial
court granted Schneider's motion to dismiss on the pleadings; the
7th Circuit reversed and remanded.
The primary point in
this case was that the trial court incorrectly relied on the terms
of Schneider's contracts with Brant to determine the employment
relationship instead of the six-factor economic realities test
under the FLSA.
The court said: "The FLSA is designed to
defeat rather than implement contractual arrangements."
Under the economic realities test, Brant stated a viable claim
that he was an employee and not an independent contractor under
the FLSA. The court said, "Brant alleges facts allowing the
plausible inference that he was so controlled by and dependent on
Schneider that he must be considered an employee as a matter of
economic reality."
Brandt alleged that Schneider imposed
detailed control over his conduct at work and enforced that
control by monitoring his operations.
Brandt also alleged
he was dependent on Schneider to make a profit or loss, and that
he was totally reliant on Schneider's credit to operate.
Additionally, Brandt hauled shipments for Schneider in the same
way as the company's employee-drivers, indicating he was an
integral part of the employer's business.
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