United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Email Contact: LoadsmartOvertimeCase@outtengolden.com
Outten & Golden LLP represents a group of sales representatives at Loadsmart, Inc., a third-party logistics services provider, in a lawsuit alleging the company misclassified them as exempt from overtime requirements and failed to pay proper overtime wages for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
Three former Loadsmart employees (known as the plaintiffs) filed the lawsuit in Illinois federal court on June 12, 2023. They’re seeking to represent current and former sales representatives who’ve worked in Illinois and New York.
“Sales representative” is an umbrella term that includes job titles such as carrier sales representative, account sales representative, digital sales representative, and sales development representative, all of which perform sales-related functions, according to the complaint. To sell Loadsmart’s suite of third-party logistics products and services, sales representatives called, emailed, researched, and prospected potential customers and sold to established customers, the complaint said. As stated in the complaint, those duties don’t qualify for any relevant exemption from overtime requirements under federal or state law.
Loadsmart required sales representatives to meet certain benchmarks and offered monetary incentives, which allegedly required them to work more than 40 hours per week and be available to clients outside of normal business hours. Because Loadsmart misclassified sales representatives as exempt, it didn’t pay them for the extra time, the complaint said. The plaintiffs alleged Loadsmart violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and state laws in Illinois and New York. In addition, plaintiffs alleged Loadsmart violated New York’s requirements to provide proper wage notices and statements that detailed how it tabulated their earnings.
On December 16, 2024, U.S. District Judge LaShonda A. Hunt granted plaintiffs’ motion for authorization to send notice of the lawsuit to other current and former Loadsmart sales representatives who may be eligible to join, or “opt-in.” Judge Hunt’s ruling lets plaintiffs send notice to other sales representatives by mail, email, and text message, and via LinkedIn.
Outten & Golden LLP is committed to upholding the rights of workers and holding employers accountable to adhere to labor laws. If you have faced similar issues in your workplace or have concerns about your employment rights, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Your rights are important, and we are here to support you.
(*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.)
