A US district judge in California granted final approval on April 29 to a $15.8 million settlement in an independent contractor misclassification case involving distributors for Matco Tools Corp., according to court records.

The class-action lawsuit involved Matco distributors who signed franchise agreements in California and operated mobile stores — selling and servicing the company’s products — between Jan. 25, 2015, and Jan. 20, 2022, according to court documents. Claims in the lawsuit included unreimbursed business expenses, unpaid overtime and denial of meal and rest periods. There are 273 class members.

Matco’s settlement includes a $13.5 million cash payment. In addition, for distributors who terminated their distributorships on or before Sept. 8, 2021, the settlement includes $2.3 million in debt relief.

The company will also put in place an amended distributorship agreement with further rights for continuing distributors such as, for example, the ability to sell non-Matco products that do not compete with the company’s own products.

The case was in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Case number is 3:19-cv-00463.

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