Taxi drivers sue for a better deal

The drivers claim their company pays them as independent contractors, but controls them like employees.

By GRAHAM BRINK

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 11, 2001

TAMPA -- Veteran cabbie John Bailey works for Gulf Coast Transportation.

Sort of.

The taxi company provides the car, meter box and dispatch service but considers Bailey an independent contractor, not an employee entitled to an hourly wage. His income comes entirely from the fares he collects.

Bailey thinks it's time for that to change.

He and 24 other local cabbies filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Gulf Coast, which operates more than half the cabs in Hillsborough County, including those with United Cabs, Taxi Plus, Thrifty Cab and ABC Taxi.

By treating drivers as independent contractors, Gulf Coast is exempt from paying even the minimum wage. Bailey, however, argues that cabbies have none of the freedom of true independent contractors and should be treated as employees.

"We're totally under the company's control," Bailey said. "It's their way or the highway."

Gulf Coast general manager Nancy Castellano did not return messages Wednesday.

Cabbies without their own car pay about $450 a week to the company to lease a cab, use the dispatch service and pick up customers at Tampa International Airport, which has an agreement with United to let its taxi service into the airport. Cabbies who use their own cars pay a smaller fee, about $300 a week.

The company does not pay personal injury insurance, unemployment compensation, health benefits or Social Security. The drivers pay for their own gas. Driving for Gulf Coast also comes with a number of restrictions, which show how the company retains control over virtually every meaningful aspect of the business, according to the lawsuit.

Gulf Coast sets the meter rates, up to a maximum set by the county. The company also forces the drivers to discount rates for certain passengers, such as senior citizens, or passengers picked up from certain locations, such as the airport. The company does not reimburse drivers for the lost income, according to the lawsuit.

Gulf Coast also forces drivers who lease one of its cabs to place advertising on the sides and roof, the suit said. Drivers do not share in any of the income generated from the advertising and are not allowed to place their own advertising on the cabs, according to the suit.

Bailey pointed out that the placards on top of the cabs cut down on gas mileage, which hits drivers in the pocketbook.

The company's restrictions on how drivers are dispatched cut down on driver initiative, normally a hallmark of independent contractors, the suit states. The company also has a policy of canceling leases if a cabbie takes more than two weeks off in a year, the suit said. The cabbie is sometimes hired back, but normally paying a higher weekly rate, according the suit.

Cabbies who break any of the company's rules risk losing their leases, the suit said.

For instance, Bailey said Castellano fired him after the suit was filed Wednesday. She called back soon after, he said, and told him that he wasn't fired but that she wanted to talk to him today about renewing his future leases. Several of the other cabbies involved in the suit also were asked to come by today to talk about their leases, Bailey said.

It's illegal for a company to retaliate against a worker who files a complaint or lawsuit. The plaintiffs' lawyers said they will likely seek an injunction to make sure that Gulf Coast complies with those rules.

"Does it sound like the cabbies have any control like independent contractors are suppose to have?" said Tampa lawyer Sam Smith, whose firm, Burr & Smith, teamed up with St. Petersburg-based Sockol & Associates to file the suit. "(The company) decides how much they make, where and when they work and how they do the job."

And cabbies have few options even if they wanted to go out on their own. Gulf Coast and its biggest rival, Yellow Cab, control about 96 percent of the county's 484 taxicab permits. Another company, which offers slightly higher-end service, owns the other permits.

The companies try to thwart any competitors who try to enter the market, the plaintiffs said. Frank Dunn, a former cabbie with Gulf Coast, said he was fired last year for simply inquiring about how much it would cost for an independent driver to buy a meter.

Most Gulf Coast cabbies work 30 to 40 hours a week to pay off the lease, Bailey said. They then work another 30 to 40 hours to make a profit.

The suit wants Gulf Coast to pay the federally mandated $5.15-per hour minimum wage for all the hours the cabbies worked for the past three years. For someone like Bailey, the payout could be about $50,000 to $60,000. Many more cabbies are expected to join the suit.

Attorney David Sockol thinks that if the suit is successful, the outcome could change the taxi industry nationwide. Most cab companies have rules and policies similar to Gulf Coast's, he said. If Gulf Coast is forced to pay minimum wage or loosen its rein on the drivers, the rest of the industry might soon have to follow.

"If you have to do it their way, then you're an employee and entitled to proper compensation," Sockol said.

- Graham Brink can be reached at (813) 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com.

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