Every single trucker understands the fact that day-to-day operations are very difficult. You need to deal with so many unexpected situations and the stress you deal with is always high. It is a certainty you do not want to end up being taken advantage of by anyone, including your employer. The big problem is that every single law firm that represents truck driver knows that truck drivers are often considered guilty even if they are not. Also, truckers rarely receive the owed compensation, are denied the mandatory rest breaks the law enforces, and face constant mistreatment.
State and federal labor laws are created with the purpose of protecting all employees from wage theft and mistreatment. Even if the labor laws are quite straightforward, for the transportation workers, they often end up being way too complicated to understand. In order to protect your rights, you need to know the law. And you need a lot of information whenever you need legal help. This is why you need to be aware of the following truck labor issues.
Being An Independent Contractor
Various Us states have different laws in regards to what an independent contractor and what an employee is. As an employee, you do have more rights and you will receive more benefits. In order to avoid having to fulfill these legal obligations, we often see employers who will classify their employees as being independent contractors.
At first glance, this is just a simple technical distinction. On further inspection though, the distinction will have a huge impact. A huge difference between these two classifications is seen in the fact that the independent contractor is not allowed to receive overtime payments.
The trucker classified as an independent contractor might actually be misclassified. This means they are fully eligible to receive compensation when this applies:
- Work is done for a single employer.
- Loads cannot be refused by the driver
- A specific rate per load has to be accepted and negotiations are not possible
- The truck is provided by a trucking company
- Maintenance, insurance, and lease payments are deducted directly from the paycheck
Based on state laws, the independent trucker will often deal with misclassifications like what was highlighted above and can have the legal grounds to file lawsuits.
Payment For Delay, Unloading, Or Loading Time
The traditional payment system for the truckers is by the mile. Unfortunately, this does not account for all the extra time spent unloading, loading, and even waiting because of weather delays or traffic delays. All the possible extra uncompensated time will lead to truckers receiving so much less than minimum wages.
Several lawsuits were filed because of this lack of payment. Class-action lawsuits are becoming more and more common and truck accident attorneys help truck drivers that are being taken advantage of with the services they offer.