Cintas Corp. has reached a tentative settlement of a 2003 class-action complaint in federal court that alleged the company illegally withheld overtime pay to drivers on its delivery routes.
Cintas will pay $24 million and said it expects to take a one-time charge of about $12 million after taxes and insurance proceeds. The Mason-based uniform supplier said in a statement that it continues to believe it properly classified and paid its drivers but decided to settle the claims to avoid the expense and distraction of protracted litigation.
The lawsuit was initially filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., and the dispute has since been in arbitration.
The judge halted court proceedings on Aug. 13 while the parties document and make arrangements for final approval of the agreement. Court documents did not detail any terms of the “settlement in principle” to which Cintas has agreed.
