Three drivers of Metro Mobility buses have filed a legal complaint alleging wage theft against the company that provides rides for disabled and elderly people in the southern and eastern suburbs.
Metro Mobility provider sued for alleged wage theft
Drivers claim they are not paid for work performed before and after shifts.
October 27, 2015 at 1:50AM
Kent Thompson, of Blaine, Majic Martin, of Mounds View, and Mark Stang, of White Bear Lake, claim that First Transit Inc. has denied them payment for time they worked.
Last year, Metro Mobility buses provided more than 1.7 million rides to people with disabilities throughout the Twin Cities. First Transit, the U.S. subsidiary of Ohio-based FirstGroup America, has been operating Metro Mobility East since "at least 2009," and the Metropolitan Council renewed the contract through August 2020, the complaint states. In June, the firm won a new five-year contract with the Met Council to provide service in the southern suburbs, replacing the West St. Paul nonprofit group DARTS.
FirstGroup could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
The complaint claims that drivers spend time before their paid shift finding their bus and preparing it for service. At the end of the workday, drivers are required to drive to a fuel station, inspect their vehicles, complete post-trip reports, count and reconcile fares, and report any incidents, according to Shawn Wanta, the Minneapolis attorney representing the drivers.
The action is a pocket filing, a feature of Minnesota law that means a civil proceeding begins when a complaint is served, rather than filed in court. In this case, the complaint was served on Monday. The exact court where (and if) the case is heard will be determined at a later date.
Wanta said lawyers for the three men will seek class-action status. He estimates that there could be more than 500 people in the potential class.
Janet Moore • 612-673-7752
The governor said it may be 2027 or 2028 by the time the market catches up to demand.
