Torrance Transit 75th Anniversary Marred by Bus Operator Class Action Lawsuit

Torrance City Bus

Torrance City Bus

Last Wednesday Torrance Transit celebrated after marking its 75th Anniversary.  The festive mood likely didn’t last long, however, as the City was hit Monday with a class action lawsuit filed by the Tidrick Law Firm on behalf of past and current bus operators.

The lawsuit alleges violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the California Labor Code and claims that the City of Torrance engaged in an unlawful practice of failing to pay its bus operators for all compensable work at the proper rate of pay.

More specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the City of Torrance would require its bus operators to attend mandatory training, safety, and staff meetings, but did not pay the employees for their time to attend these meetings. The complaint also alleges the City would routinely schedule routes that would end after their scheduled arrival time. The bus operators were then compensated only according to the scheduled run time and not how long it actually took to complete the route.

The suit further alleges that employees were not compensated for their time completing and reviewing required documentation after their shifts and that they were not paid overtime when any time associated with completing any of the tasks listed in the complaint caused them to work beyond 40 hours in a week.

As relief, the plaintiffs seek recovery of all unpaid wages with interest, exemplary and punitive damages, and all costs of suit inclusive of attorney fees.

No matter the ultimate outcome of the case, the suit is surely to put a further dent into an already depleted City legal defense fund.

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