The California Labor Commissioner’s office has awarded 38 truck drivers $6.9 million in back pay after ruling that the drivers had been improperly classified as independent contractors, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The drivers, who had worked for Pacific 9 Transportation serving Southern California ports as independent contractors, filed a claim with the California Division of Labor Standards on the misclassification issue. The Labor Commissioner’s Office ruled in the drivers’ favor, ordering Pacific 9 to compensate drivers for paycheck deductions, wages and legal costs related to the issue.

In some cases, drivers will receive payouts that amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Pacific 9 is ordered to pay interest for the years since the payments were considered due to the drivers. The average amount awarded to drivers in this case is $182,270 and the largest individual amount awarded is $386,703.14.

If you are a driver and believe you have may been misclassified as an independent contractor or have not been compensated for sleep time, waiting time, or short rest breaks, contact trucker lawyer Robert Boulter for a free consultation at (415) 233-7100 or at [email protected].