Former TriMet Employee Files Lawsuit, Alleges Unfair Labor Practices
Just weeks after TriMet filed a lawsuit against Clackamas County due to impeded progress on Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Line, the mass transportation agency is finding itself embroiled in another lawsuit filed by a former employee – one that could cost the agency millions of dollars.Al Margulies, a retired TriMet bus driver and an avid blogger, posted a copy of the class action lawsuit he filed back in January on his website, Rantings of a Former TriMet Bus Driver. In the lawsuit, he alleges that the agency is involved in unfair labor practices, primarily that vehicle operators aren’t fairly paid for all the time they work. TriMet’s lawyer moved on Wednesday that the suit be moved to federal court.
The lawsuit is garnering significant support within the state of Oregon and also across state lines; 14 plaintiffs have joined with Margulies to push the suit, and a California law firm is helping to represent the disgruntled operators. Paul Breed, a Portland attorney who is teaming up with the law firm to pursue this case, discussed some of the details with Willamette Week.
The suit focuses on the times when operators aren’t actively transporting passengers, but instead are moving from one location to another in preparation for a new route, or returning to the location where their vehicle is parked.
“They have a practice of not paying drivers for the time in between split shifts,” Breed said.
He claims that, by law, the operators are required be compensated. “It’s time that the drivers are not effectively able to put to their own use,” he said to Willamette Week, “and it should be considered compensable under federal and state wage laws.”
Furthermore, the lawsuit also alleges that operators aren’t actually paid for the amount of time it takes to work their shift; instead, pay is doled out based on the amount of time TriMet determines a particular route should take. For any route that runs over the estimated time, the operator isn’t compensated for the extra time.
Last year, a similar case filed in California against the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District was settled in favor of over 1,300 operators who signed on to the suit. Margulies’ lawsuit against TriMet is more ambitious, asking for $20 million in both state and federal claims. This is compared to the $7 million for operators asked in California, as well as $10,000 for each of the main plaintiffs. The judge in the California case also awarded $1.65 million in attorney fees to the plaintiffs.
Breed told Willamett Week that Margulies’ case will likely garner more signatories as time goes on. TriMet’s Attorney Gregory Skillman has declined to comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment