From HRDive, Lisa Burden reports that the producers of Wonder Bread adn Nature’s Own products has settled for $8.3 claims with workers who alleged that they were misclassified as independent contractors. Lisa writes:
- Flowers Foods — a baked goods producer that owns brands such as Wonder Bread, Nature’s Own and Dave’s Killer Bread — has agreed to pay $8.3 million to settle claims it violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by misclassifying distributors as independent contractors, depriving them of overtime pay (Rosinbaum, et al v. Flowers Foods, Inc. and Franklin Baking Co., LLC., No. 7:16-cv-00233 (E.D. N.C. May 12, 2020)).
- The plaintiffs alleged in the 2015 class action lawsuit that the control Flowers Foods exerted over their job responsibilities showed they were employees entitled to overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. The plaintiffs said they were required to arrive at warehouses at times determined by the employer to stock their delivery vehicles. They said Flowers Foods required them to deliver the products to customers at specific times and places and that they had no “ownership or entrepreneurial influence over their day-to-day activities.”
- The proposed settlement also includes non-monetary concessions; among other things, the company must add a distributor advocate to oversee an internal, alternative dispute resolution process for independent distributors and a review panel to provide for resolution of contract-related disputes.
Read the full story at Owner of Wonder Bread, Nature’s Own brands settles classification claims for $8.3M | HR Dive
yes mission foods who is own by Gruma should be investigate next they have misclassified their workers for many years the hard working tortillas distributors have suffer under misclassification with the corona virus has expose the need for more protection,sick days , unemployment benefits, they have nothing.