"NFI loses Rio Tinto account as misclassification liability grows," 7 Dec 2020

When NFI lost long-term customer Rio Tinto earlier this year, it signaled that driver misclassification continues to be a liability for port trucking companies and their customers, even in the wake of Proposition 22... Tech companies’ $220 million ballot measure may have bought them an exemption from California labor laws for now, but port drivers continue proving they have rights as employees – and that misclassification has a real cost for port trucking companies.

... NFI subsidiary Cal Cartage Express (NFI/CCX), which for decades hauled almost exclusively for global mining giant Rio Tinto, informed its drivers earlier this year that it had lost the Rio Tinto account. It appears that the drayage contract is now being serviced by CRST, which uses employee drivers. Rio Tinto’s move in declining to renew Cal Cartage Express’ contract after at least 30 years came after months of drivers’ repeated appeals to Rio Tinto to enforce its Supplier Code of Conduct... The drivers brought forth evidence that NFI/CCX was violating Rio Tinto’s Code of Conduct by misclassifying them, which led to labor violations including wage theft and unfair labor practice charges. These violations led the drivers to engage in five unfair labor practice strikes against NFI/CCX... [S]ince Rio Tinto moved its account from NFI/CCX to an employee-based company, the misclassification liability has only continued to mount for NFI/CCX.

... To avoid the risk of future such liability, Rio Tinto would be wise to create even stronger standards within both its Supplier Code of Conduct and its direct contracts with port drayage providers, and monitor them rigorously to ensure ongoing compliance.