A Los Angeles federal court granted final approval of a $4.2 million settlement between long-haul truck drivers out of ports in Los Angeles and San Diego who drove for STG Logistics (formerly XPO Logistics), according to the law firm representing former owner-operators who drove for the company. STG is also ending its independent contractor owner-operator model in California and New Jersey. 

Class members who drove for XPO/STG will receive more than $7,500 on average after accounting for attorney fees and other deductions from the settlement. 

The company still faces a pending lawsuit filed by the state of New Jersey — the first lawsuit filed under the state’s 2021 independent contractor misclassification law. Filed by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development along with the New Jersey attorney general, the suit alleges STG Logistics and STG Drayage misclassified truck drivers as independent contractors.

New Jersey independent contractors who haul freight under STG Drayage’s operating authority were notified on July 29 that they will no longer be tendered loads beginning in late November unless the truckers get their own authority through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and meet other requirements, FreightWaves reported.

“After careful consideration of shifting market conditions and changing legal landscapes, STG Drayage plans to cease doing business in New Jersey with independent contractor owner-operators who operate under STG Drayage’s federal motor carrier operating authority as early as November 27,” according to the STG notice.