Johnson v. Diakon Logistics, Inc.

Dist. Ct. erred in granting defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s class action, alleging that delivery truck drivers, who signed defendants’ service agreement to provide trucking services on defendants’ behalf, were covered as employees under Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA) and that defendants violated IWCPA, even though agreements signed by plaintiffs designated plaintiffs as independent contractors. While Dist. Ct. based ruling on choice-of-law clause in said agreements indicating that Virginia law applied to disputes under agreements, and that plaintiffs would be independent contractors, as opposed to employees, under Virginia law, remand was required for determination as to whether plaintiffs were employees under IWCPA, because choice-of-law clause was irrelevant to instant lawsuit, which pertained only to claims brought under IWCPA for work performed in Illinois.