Delivery Drivers for CVS Subsidiary Settle Unpaid Wage Claims for $11.9M

Delivery drivers for CVS Health Corp., specifically its subsidiary, Omnicare, have recently settled claims for unpaid wages. A district judge in West Virginia approved the nearly $12 million settlement this past Monday resolving claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The class of delivery drivers alleged that they were incorrectly classified as independent contractors and in turn deprived of significant wages. The $11.9 million settlement will benefit over 1,200 current and former drivers for Omnicare.

The drivers, who delivered pharmaceutical and medical items to health care entities nationwide, claimed they should have been classified as employees as opposed to independent contractors.These drivers were unable to exercise discretion over their work which is required to be considered an independent contractor. Omnicare allegedly controlled, supervised, and directedthe manner in which its delivery drivers performed these pharmaceutical delivery servicesincluding mandating schedules and routes drivers must comply with. Additionally, deliverydrivers often worked 12 hour days but were not paid overtime when working over 40 hours per week due in part to their misclassification. Another violation included having to pay out of out of pocket for work related expenses such as gasoline, tolls and vehicle maintenance, which resulted in an hourly rate of pay below the relevant federal minimum wages required by the FLSA.

Misclassifying workers as independent contractors is unfortunately very common across many industries. If you are considered as an independent but do not have extensive control over your services, you may be misclassified. If you have any questions regarding your pay structure, do not hesitate to call our employment law firm, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP, for a free and confidential consultation. You can reach us at (212) 300-0375 or visit our website for additional helpful information regarding your rights.