Truck drivers win $52M whistleblower retaliation verdict against Sysco

A California jury has awarded roughly $52 million to a group of truck drivers and yard workers who alleged they were retaliated against after raising safety, wage and regulatory concerns at Sysco, one of the nation’s largest food-distribution companies.

The verdict stems from a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Sysco Riverside Inc. and Sysco Corp., in which multiple plaintiffs accused company managers of fostering a culture of intimidation toward employees who reported unsafe and illegal practices.

Maryann Gallagher, the lead plaintiff attorney in the case, said the size of the verdict reflects how jurors viewed the evidence.

“I think there was overwhelming evidence,” Gallagher told FreightWaves. “There was so much evidence that Sysco was violating the law and these people were complaining and they didn’t do anything about it.”

Sysco did not return a request for comment from FreightWaves. The company has not publicly commented on the verdict or whether it plans to appeal.

Allegations of unsafe practices

According to court documents, the employees — many of whom had worked at Sysco for years or decades at a location in Riverside, California — raised concerns related to yard safety, excessive working hours, falsified time records, food safety violations and retaliation for contacting regulators, including Cal/OSHA and the Labor Commission.

Houston-based Sysco (NYSE: SYY) is a multinational corporation that sells, markets and distributes food products, foodservice supplies, and equipment to restaurants, healthcare facilities and stadiums.

Sysco directly operates 1,472 power units and employs 1,719 drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The company has 340 distribution centers in 10 countries.

The plaintiffs who worked at the Sysco Riverside facility said they were pressured to move trucks and trailers quickly through crowded yards, sometimes at unsafe speeds, and to maintain tight schedules that prioritized efficiency over safety. They also said they were told to load perishable food into trailers that were not properly refrigerated.

Gallagher said the misconduct described at trial spanned several years.

“It was, at least in our case, from 2016 until 2020 — four years,” she said.

Retaliation claims central to verdict

At the heart of the lawsuit were allegations that Sysco retaliated against workers who refused to participate in or reported those practices. The employees said retaliation included reduced hours, harassment, surveillance, discipline, termination and constructive discharge.

Gallagher said one of the most striking facts for jurors was how the company handled a supervisor accused of leading the retaliation.

“After all these people complained, it continued to go on, and they promoted him to a director — and he’s still the warehouse director there,” she said.

What the drivers wanted

Gallagher said the plaintiffs were motivated by more than personal compensation.

“There were two important factors,” she said. “It was getting them compensation for what they went through, and the second factor was stopping this behavior at Sysco. They didn’t want other truck drivers to have to go through what they went through.”

The jury found that Sysco violated California Labor Code Section 1102.5, the state’s whistleblower protection statute, which prohibits retaliation against employees who report or oppose illegal activity — even when complaints are made internally.

“In California, you don’t have to go to a government agency to be protected,” Gallagher said. “If you complain to your employer and they don’t take steps or they retaliate against you, then that’s illegal.”