CRST Truck Driver Lawsuits
Last Updated on February 4, 2019
Investigation Complete
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have finished their investigation into this matter.
Check back for any potential updates and take a look at our open investigations here. The information on this page is for reference only.
At A Glance
- This Alert Affects:
- Anyone who worked for CRST International or CRST Expedited after being a student in the trucking company’s driver training program.
- What’s Going On?
- Allegations have surfaced that CRST Trucking is blocking former students who signed non-compete contracts from getting work elsewhere by misrepresenting to outside companies that the drivers are still employed by CRST when they aren’t.
- How Can a Lawsuit Help?
- Class action lawsuits, if successful, could stop CRST from continuing its alleged anti-poaching practices and repay drivers for lost wages and other injuries CRST may have caused by blocking them from getting work with another trucking company.
It’s been alleged that when these drivers attempt to find work elsewhere, CRST Trucking is falsely misrepresenting that the workers are still employed by the company – even when they aren’t. Read on for more.
What’s Going On, Exactly?
CRST provides a driving school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for new drivers. During training, students are told to sign employment contracts that require them to work for CRST Trucking for a certain length of time – say, 10 months – after they complete their schooling. CRST then makes deductions from these drivers’ paychecks to purportedly pay itself back for the training it provided. Should a student attempt to get out of his or her non-compete contract, he or she is required to pay back thousands in training “costs.”
When a former student who goes through the school attempts to find a job elsewhere, it’s been reported that he or she is being blocked by CRST Trucking from getting work.
Certain federal regulations require that when companies hire truck drivers, they consult a registry. When that is done, CRST asserts that the students who signed its non-compete contracts are ineligible for hire because they are still employed with the trucking company – even though they aren’t. Some of these companies are even sending letters to CRST to hire formerly employed drivers and are allegedly being incorrectly told that the driver is still with the company.
It’s believed that there is no clear time limit on this; it’s possible that CRST is still doing this for drivers who worked for them decades ago.
Attorneys suspect that CRST’s behavior constitutes a severe and illegal anti-poaching business practice that significantly suppresses drivers’ career growth and ability to earn competitive wages. Former students who signed non-compete contracts with CRST may be losing out on opportunities for better pay, more benefits, and higher positions that would potentially be offered to them by other companies.
This Happened to Me. How Can a Lawsuit Help?
It’s believed that CRST’s treatment of former students is illegal, so a class action lawsuit could force the company to adhere to the law and stop its potentially anti-competitive behavior.
A lawsuit could also repay drivers for lost wages and other benefits they would have received if they hadn’t been blocked from getting hired at other companies.
Attorneys have been looking for people who can help them file class action lawsuits against CRST to put a stop to its allegedly illegal business practices.
Remember, your employer is prohibited by law from retaliating against you for exercising your legal rights, and you won’t be obligated to take legal action just for speaking with an attorney.
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