FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 30, 2010

CONTACT: Adam Luetto, 626-568-0200

Class Action Wage-and-Hour Suit Filed Against Sun Pacific Trucking, Inc., and Pacific Green Trucking, Inc., on Behalf of Southern CA Port Drivers; Latest Suit Cites Labor Violations Including Failure to Pay Minimum Wage or Provide Meal/Rest Breaks to Employees

Today the Law Offices of Ellyn Moscowitz, PC, Keller Grover, LLP, and the Law Offices of Scot D. Bernstein, A Professional Corporation, filed a class action lawsuit against Sun Pacific Transportation, Inc., and Pacific Green Trucking, Inc., on behalf of truck drivers operating at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Allegations include failure to pay employees wages for all hours worked, failure to provide drivers with meal and rest periods, and unfair business practices. These violations are alleged to have occurred as a matter of policy by Sun Pacific and Pacific Green Trucking, going back at least four years from the date the complaint was filed. The drivers’ complaint also alleges that Sun Pacific and Pacific Green Trucking are merely alter egos of the same enterprise and that both are liable for the violations.

The suit’s significance goes far beyond that of an isolated case. It comes just as federal and state lawmakers are grappling with how to crack down effectively on pervasive labor violations in the port trucking industry. This is one of a number of lawsuits filed recently against port trucking companies by both private law firms and the California Attorney General’s Office for unfair business practices and violations of California employment laws.

In November 2009, the Law Offices of Ellyn Moscowitz, PC, filed a similar class action lawsuit against Total Transportation Services, Inc., another large port trucking firm, alleging claims similar to those asserted in the suit against Sun Pacific and Pacific Green Trucking. Litigation continues in that matter. Further, in February 2010, Attorney General Jerry Brown won a fifth judgment against port trucking companies that had violated workers’ rights by, among other things, misclassifying direct employees as independent contractors. All of this demonstrates a clear pattern of complaints against port trucking companies for failing to pay drivers all compensation they are owed.

“With Sun Pacific, we are seeing the same kinds of complaints from drivers that gave rise to the suit against Total Transportation,” said Adam Luetto, attorney for the drivers. “Port drivers consistently say that they are forced to drive long hours without breaks and required to perform work for which they never get paid. The drivers, unsurprisingly, are tired of working for free and we are working hard to hold their employers responsible for these unlawful employment practices.”

Port driver and named plaintiff Jorge Ramirez said, “Sun Pacific didn’t pay us for all of our time. Nearly every day, Sun Pacific would have us work an extra hour here, an extra half-hour there. By the end of the week, all those hours add up. But we would never see our hard-earned money.”

The named plaintiffs approached the Law Offices of Ellyn Moscowitz, PC, earlier this year. Attorneys then sought assistance from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to develop the case further. The union informed Port drivers about their rights under California law and about how a lawsuit could help enforce workplace protections. Teamster Organizer Ricardo Hidalgo said, “Sun Pacific’s practices are all too common in an unregulated industry where companies are accustomed to passing the cost of doing business on to their workers. Port truck drivers are speaking out and their voices finally being heard by local authorities, the courts, and Congress alike.”