Illinois court certifies class action in Risinger Brothers Transfer driver misclassification suit

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois has granted class action status to a lawsuit against Illinois-based carrier Risinger Brothers Transfer Inc. The case, originally filed by two drivers including lead plaintiff Michael Contreras, alleges that the company misclassified drivers as independent contractors while governing them as employees. This misclassification allegedly resulted in wage deductions for items such as truck payments, insurance, fuel, and maintenance escrow, causing pay to fall below the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum wage requirements.

Judge Jonathan Hawley ruled that the plaintiffs met the modest evidentiary burden required for certification, noting that potential differences in driver categories do not currently bar collective notice. The decision, handed down on Friday, cited the precedent of Richards vs. Eli Lilly, stating that plaintiffs do not need to foreclose disputes or satisfy an excessive burden at this early stage of the proceedings.

Risinger Brothers Transfer Inc. has argued that a class action is inappropriate because the proposed collective encompasses drivers with fundamentally different operations. The carrier’s filings identified six distinct categories of drivers, including lease-purchase drivers, owner-operator drivers, team drivers, third-party carrier drivers, one-way carrier drivers, and others. However, the court stated that issues regarding specific damages, hours worked, and equipment investment can be addressed at a later stage rather than barring collective notice now.

The original lawsuit cited a specific instance in November 2024 where driver Michael Contreras received no pay for a 20-hour week after deductions. The complaint alleges that despite signing independent contractor agreements, drivers were assigned to the company’s logo and DOT number, received assignments from a Risinger dispatcher, and were required to make deliveries within set time windows. The lawsuit contends that these conditions demonstrate employee status, yet the drivers bore significant operational costs that reduced their effective hourly wage below federal minimums.

According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) SAFER data, Risinger Brothers Transfer Inc. operates 327 power units. Emails sent to the company’s attorneys and through its portal had not received a response by publication time. The case highlights the ongoing legal tension in the trucking sector regarding the classification of drivers and the associated liability for wage and hour violations.