Class Action Alleges BlueTriton Delivery Drivers in New York Paid Biweekly Instead of Weekly

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A proposed class action alleges BlueTriton Brands, Inc. has violated a New York law by failing to pay manual workers on a weekly basis.

Per the 11-page case, BlueTriton, formerly Nestle Waters North America, employs over 300 people in New York, most of whom are manual workers who spend at least 25 percent of their time performing physical tasks. The lawsuit alleges that although the New York Labor Law requires manual workers to be paid within seven calendar days of the end of the week in which their wages were earned, BlueTriton has instead paid its delivery drivers on a biweekly basis.

“In this regard, Defendant has failed to provide timely wages to, and has taken unlawful deductions from the wages of, Plaintiff and all other similar Manual Workers,” the complaint charges.

The plaintiff in the case is a New York resident who says he worked for BlueTriton as a ReadyFresh service representative from September 2018 until June 2020, when he was promoted to the role of delivery service driver, and continued with the company until June 2021. The lawsuit explains that BlueTriton, who sells bottled water to retail customers throughout New York and other states, hires ReadyFresh service reps to deliver products to smaller customers.

The case says that because delivery drivers were “strictly tasked” with making deliveries, more than 25 percent of their time was spent on physical work such as unloading and loading goods, physically delivering products to customers, filling up trucks with fuel and driving for “long periods of time.”

BlueTriton nevertheless paid delivery drivers on a biweekly basis, meaning they were unlawfully deprived of timely wages every other workweek, the suit alleges.

“Every time that Defendant failed to pay Plaintiff his wages earned within seven days of the end of the workweek, Defendant deprived him of the use of money that belonged to him,” the lawsuit claims. “As a result, Plaintiff was unable to do those things that every person does with their money, such as paying bills or buying goods that he needed or wanted to buy. Moreover, by retaining money that belonged to Plaintiff, Plaintiff lost the time value of money.”

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who worked for BlueTriton in New York as a non-commissioned delivery driver, including ReadyFresh service representatives, or a commissioned delivery driver who received commissions, including delivery service drivers, between November 11, 2015 and the date of judgment in the case.

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s newsletter here.