CRST Expedited minimum wage settlement: no objections, Nov 16 hearing

When we last checked this case on October 17, 2026, the newest entry on the docket was a document labelled only “Notice (Other),” filed October 13 as entry 187, and its text was not public. The full docket text now shows what it is: “Notice That No Objections to the Class Action and PAGA Settlement Were Received,” filed jointly by both sides, with a declaration from the settlement administrator’s side attached as Exhibit A. October 5, 2026 was the last day for a class member to object, so the notice tells Judge Wright that the objection window closed without a single written objection on file.

On October 19, 2026 — the date the preliminary approval order’s 28-day rule pointed to — class counsel filed the three papers the judge needs before he can sign off:

• Entry 188: a “Motion for Settlement Approval of Class Action and PAGA Settlement,” with declarations from both plaintiff firms, the class representative and the administrator’s declarant, a proposed order and a proposed final judgment.
• Entry 189: a “Motion for Attorney Fees and Costs.”
• Entry 190: a “Motion for Order for Approval of Service Award to Class Representative.”

One thing to watch for in docket alerts: entry 190 is indexed as “Order” in some feeds and on CourtListener. It is not a court order. It is a request for an order, and the judge has not ruled on any of the three motions. Each is set for hearing on November 16, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Wright.

The money side has not changed on the public record. The settlement is $14.5 million, non-reversionary, for 4,512 California-resident CRST drivers paid by the piece between August 9, 2017 and April 10, 2023, excluding people who took part in the earlier Montoya settlement. At preliminary approval the plan set aside up to $4,833,333 (one third) in attorneys’ fees, about $405,791 in costs, up to $15,000 for the class representative, about $60,703 for administration and $725,000 for PAGA penalties, of which $181,250 goes to drivers in the PAGA group. That left about $8,455,964 for the class — an average of $1,874.10, the court’s own figure.

The October 19 motions will show whether those requests stand as planned; their text was not available to us as of October 23, 2026. If the judge awards less in fees or costs than the maximum, the difference stays in the class fund, because nothing reverts to CRST. Your own share is pro rata by your qualifying workweeks, and weeks from May 1, 2023 onward count at 25 percent, so the average is not a promise.

When: no check goes out before the November 16 hearing. Under the timetable published with the settlement, once the judgment becomes effective — after any appeal period — CRST funds the settlement within 30 days and Kroll mails checks within 15 days after that. A record with no objections removes the most common source of an appeal, but the appeal period still has to run. Checks are taxed in three parts: one third as wages on a W-2, one third as interest and one third as penalties on a 1099. Uncashed checks expire after 180 days.

A genuine notice comes from Kroll Settlement Administration, names Huckaby v. CRST Expedited, Inc., and points to truckingdriversettlement.com. Because no claim form exists, a message asking you to “file a claim,” pay a fee, or give a bank login to receive CRST settlement money does not fit how this settlement pays. Look up the administrator’s number yourself — (833) 930-1150 — rather than calling a number in the message. One practical note: the official site refused our automated requests on October 23, 2026, so we could not read any update posted there since September.

The CRST Expedited minimum wage settlement resolves a California wage case brought in 2021 and moved to federal court on September 29, 2021. The court framed the central question as whether CRST’s mileage-based piece-rate plan “was sufficient to compensate the CA Truck Drivers for their non-driving time.” The drivers alleged that waiting at customers, breakdowns, weather delays, layovers and sleeper-berth time went unpaid, pushing pay below California’s minimum wage; they also brought claims over expenses, wage statements and final pay. CRST Expedited, Inc. and CRST International, Inc. deny liability, and the settlement is not an admission.

Other CRST cases are not this one. Montoya v. CRST Expedited in Massachusetts dealt with driver-training fees and sleeper-berth pay, and its participants are excluded here. A 2019 settlement between CRST and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concerned one veteran applicant who wanted to drive with a service dog; it pays nothing to the drivers in this class.

Does CRST pay for CDL training? That is a hiring question, not part of this settlement. In a 2020 student packet, CRST described three options: “company-sponsored training (we will pay the full tuition, in exchange you sign a 10 month contract), our pre pay option (you pay the tuition, in full, upfront, no contract),” or GI benefits for veterans. Current terms come from CRST’s recruiters, not from the court. Likewise, this settlement does not say what CRST pays drivers today, local or over-the-road; it only covers piece-rate pay to California drivers from 2017 to 2023.

A no-objection record is a good sign for final approval but not a guarantee: Judge Wright still has to rule on the fee request and on whether the deal is fair. The open numbers are all inside the October 19 filings, which were not in the public RECAP archive as of October 23, 2026: the exact fee and cost request, the service award figure, how many drivers opted out, and the final class count and average. The docket summary we read was last updated October 21, 2026 and showed no entry after 190. We will update when Judge Wright rules.