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Newspaper carriers, OC Register settle lawsuit
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Newspaper carriers for the Orange County Register will be getting a little “extra, extra.” But it’s not the “extra” they’d hoped for. KPCC’s Susan Valot says a judge has signed off on a settlement of the carriers’ lawsuit against the newspaper.
The newspaper carriers filed a class-action lawsuit against the parent company of the Orange County Register five years ago. They wanted to become Register employees, rather than independent contractors, so they’d be eligible for benefits. Under the settlement, the carriers won’t get that employee status. But they will get an average of $5,000 each.
The Register also agreed to lower fines against carriers for late or damaged papers, and it won’t make them buy a $500 bond to cover property damage while delivering papers. An attorney for the carriers says earlier this month, carriers for the Fresno Bee were fired and told they’d be rehired only if they signed a waiver to bow out of claims in a recent lawsuit. The attorney says the Register carriers will ask a judge for a protective order to prevent that in this case.
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