Johnson v. Serenity Transportation, Inc.

Case No.: 3:15-cv-02004-JSC

U.S. Federal District Court- Northern District

Attorneys: Peter Rukin, Jessica Riggin, Valerie Brender

We have filed a class and collective action lawsuit against Serenity Transportation, Inc.; David Friedel; Service Corporation International; SCI California Funeral Services, Inc.; and the County of Santa Clara on behalf of current and former Drivers and Removal Workers who have worked for Serenity.  The Complaint alleges Defendants misclassify Drivers as independent contractors while treating them as employees under California and federal law and that Defendants pay Drivers a flat rate per call that does not compensate Drivers for their on-call time or for any hours spent responding to calls over 8 hours in a day or over 40 hours in a week.  Plaintiffs also allege that Drivers were required to bear the costs of their own business expenses, including providing a removal vehicle, paying for vehicle-related costs such as fuel and maintenance, paying for required insurance, and providing their own required supplies, including items such as body bags and sheets. As a result, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants owe unpaid regular and overtime wages to Drivers; unreimbursed business expenses; meal and rest break penalties; and other related penalties.

See the complaint here.

Case updates

Conditional Action Certification Granted: On April 19, 2016, the Court conditionally certified the Lawsuit’s federal overtime claims to proceed as a “collective action” on behalf of Drivers who worked for Serenity as independent contractors in California, finding that Plaintiffs had met their burden of showing that they were similarly situated to other Drivers. As a result, the Court authorized Notice of the Lawsuit to be mailed to all Serenity Drivers who have worked for Serenity within the past three years.  If you have worked as a Serenity Driver within the past three years, you may be eligible to join the case as an Opt-in Plaintiff by mailing in the Opt-in Notice no later than July 30th, 2016; however, the statute of limitations on your claims will continue to run until you submit your Opt-in Form.  If you have any questions, please contact us.

You can download a copy of the Court-authorized Notice and Opt-in Form HERE.