August 7, 2020: Written By Anthony J. Vizzoni, Esq.
U.S. District Court Grants Final Approval of a Settlement between PAM Transport Services, Inc. and Thousands of Drivers
On July 31, 2020, Judge Timothy L. Brooks of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas granted final approval of a settlement between PAM Transport Services, Inc. (“PAM”) and thousands of its drivers in a class action suit that was settled in February, 2020.
As a result, over 16,000 PAM drivers will collect $16.5 million of the settlement proceeds.
In December 2016, three over-the-road truck drivers of PAM filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas asserting that PAM violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Arkansas Minimum Wage Law. The Complaint alleged that PAM failed to pay its drivers minimum wage as required by federal and state law.
Per Arkansas regulations, the maximum amount of time an employer may dock an employee who is on duty for more than 24 hours for time spent in a sleeper berth is eight hours per day. The remaining hours is work time and must be paid, minus meal periods. Attorneys for the PAM drivers had argued that the drivers were required to work more than 16 hours each day to perform ancillary duties.