In a significant victory for trucking companies operating in California, a superior court judge decertified a class of California truck drivers who challenged the legality of compensating drivers on a “combined” piece rate that covers both driving and non-driving duties, when compensation for the “piece” is based generally on the number of miles driven. The decertification order in Carson v. Knight Transportation is particularly significant not only because it is the first state-court order addressing the legality of a combined piece rate, but also because three federal courts in the Northern and Central Districts of California concluded that such a combined piece rate runs afoul of California’s law prohibiting the “averaging” of hours worked.
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