Getting paid percentage?

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by OffTheChains, Aug 19, 2011.

  1. shredfit1

    shredfit1 Road Train Member

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    That does mean abandon the truck... But it would depend on how the situation would escalate. If the company IS not paying the agreed percentage. Further action can be taken... with the truck still in the drivers possession. It helps to be from a rural area, in which one knows the local law enforcement by first name(if you know what I mean).

    Bottom line, the employer will end up losing money... If your gonna screw your employees, don't be suprised when you get one that will screw back.
     
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  3. Pedigreed Bulldog

    Pedigreed Bulldog Road Train Member

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    If you have the truck in your possession at any location other than where the owner of the truck has instructed you to leave it after you have been terminated, that is motor vehicle theft. If the truck is loaded, that is cargo theft.

    ...and I hate to break it to you, but it won't be the local law knocking on your door. Once an interstate nexus is achieved, the FBI has jurisdiction.

    ...and it doesn't take much for that interstate nexus to be achieved. Google "U.S. v. Drury" and read up about how a simple local phone call, which happened to be routed through another state, achieved the interstate nexus to give the feds jurisdiction in an otherwise local murder-for-hire case.
     
  4. dirtyrabbit

    dirtyrabbit Medium Load Member

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    Never just abandon a truck. Simply go into the office the next time your at the yard and ask straight up. If your not happy with the answer, put the keys on the table and go clean out the truck. I run percentage, it's on every statement for every load. I'm told after I've been loaded what the pay is to be.

    It comes down to one fact; if you feel like you cannot trust the people you work for, you should not be there.
     
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  5. shredfit1

    shredfit1 Road Train Member

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    Funny how it has never gotten this far... and I supect, would take a lot of time to go through. Still, being the driver is also a victim of theft as the owner isn't paying what they agreed on, it seems there might be more serious things the Feds are worried about than a truck/trailer/load held on lien for moneys owed.

    At any rate, a call to your attorney being from a small town/county can get a contrators lien placed on the property, and notifications sent out that day. If the Feds come to the door, they are handed the lien paperwork and leave. The matter is to then be settled in civil court, where all parties then will know the employer is a dead beat.
     
  6. Pedigreed Bulldog

    Pedigreed Bulldog Road Train Member

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    Just because the driver THINKS he is a victim of "theft" doesn't make it so. Remember, your percentage is of the freight bill, NOT the entire amount paid to ship the load. If the rate sucks, your share of next to nothing is not going to be a whole heck of a lot. Remember, you are a company employee. You have no "right" to see the books. You have no "rights" to steal company equipment, or to hold the company's loads hostage while you try to extort more money from your boss. You are NOT a contractor, and as such you cannot place a "contractor's lien" on the equipment or on the load. You are simply an employee.

    If you want to play hardball, go ahead and play. Don't be surprised, though, when you decide to play against someone who knows the rules of the game and uses them to his full advantage to put you behind bars. Good luck getting another job in this industry when a simple background check reveals a criminal history of motor vehicle and cargo theft.:thumbup:
     
  7. shredfit1

    shredfit1 Road Train Member

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    Hardball, can be played both ways. If the employer wants to play. The BOL IS a legal contract. I've been down this road before... Driver signs for the load so his/her name is on the contract. So the 'employee' thing in trucking is not as clear cut as the employer would like to believe.

    So, don't be surprised, though, when you decide to play against a driver who knows the rules of the game and uses them to his full advantage.

    Besides, other 'games' can be played that only cost the employer money... if they really wanna push the issue.

    The best policy an employer can employ is honesty. Tell the driver what the load pays...show the books, drivers realize not every load is the gravy train. But when the gravy train arrives, pay the agreed % amount, peroid.
     
  8. Pedigreed Bulldog

    Pedigreed Bulldog Road Train Member

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    You sign the BOL as a representative of the carrier, NOT as a contractor. Theft is theft, and it will land you in jail. You may THINK you can get away with certain things, and perhaps you have in the past...but that does not mean that what you are doing is within the scope of the law. There is no law allowing you to take your employer's truck and your employer's customer's freight to an unauthorized location to hold as a means to extort money or information from your employer.

    However, there ARE laws against motor vehicle theft.
    There ARE laws against cargo theft.
    There ARE laws against extortion.

    Since it says your location is MN, I'll use Minnesota law to demonstrate my point:

    So, under Minnesota law, you can be locked up for up to 10 years and a fine of up to $20K for stealing the truck (worth more than $5K)...with another count of theft with a 10 year/$20K sentence for stealing the trailer (worth more than $5K)....and depending upon the value of the load, that too could carry a third count with a 10 year/$20K sentence attached.


    So, using false information to place that lien on a truck which you have NO legal right to maintain possession of will have you facing another 4 years/$10K sentence.



    So, by attempting to have a lien placed on a vehicle which you do not own, and have no legal right to have possession of, you will have to pay your employer's legal fees incurred in correcting the situation....as well as your employer's cost to recover the vehicle, as well as any costs to repair any damage to the truck.


    Not only that, but...



    So you can kiss that driver's license goodbye.


    Now keep in mind, all of that is IF it only stays a matter of the state. Once the feds get involved, it gets worse for you.


    Stealing a truck and the load on that truck, and holding it in an effort to extort money or information to which you have NO legal right from of your employer is a bad idea.
     
  9. shredfit1

    shredfit1 Road Train Member

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    Your post is 'assuming' there has been a crime. If done right, this is purely a matter for 'civil' court and/or arbitration.

    By being the acting agent of the carrier, and signing for the contract(BOL). You are given acting authority under that contract. Thus, giving the acting agent rescissional rights and/or reponsiblities for the original contract. Which is a matter of civil law... not crimminal. Thus, an acting agent of the carrier... under MN law has the 'right' to civilly dispute a contact.

    Thus, costly arbitation can be the result... really nobody wins here as the acting agent and carrier are without work(for the truck until the matter is resolved). Oh, by the way, this could take months.

    Isn't playing "hardball" fun?
     
  10. Pedigreed Bulldog

    Pedigreed Bulldog Road Train Member

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    There is no "if done right".

    Once you are fired, you can no longer act as an agent for the carrier because you are no longer employed by them. As a driver, you are not privy to the terms of the shipping contract, other than where it picks up, and where it delivers. The rates, so to speak, are above your pay grade and as such you have NO legal right to do anything other than pick up the load, haul the load to its destination, and deliver the load.

    If you worked in an office, you would be escorted out by security to ensure you did not remove any company property from the work area...however, trucking is a different critter. Your boss is not there to see to it that you do not remove company property after your employment has been terminated, however the penalties for theft are the same. If you move the truck from the location which you were directed to leave it, you are guilty of motor vehicle theft. If it is loaded, it is also cargo theft. If you seek to gain title to the truck through a fraudulent contractor's lien, you are guilty of yet anther crime. If you intend to hold onto the property of which you have no legal right to possess in order to gain access to information or money which you have no legal right to receive, that also is illegal. Since most of those offenses are felonies, and you would be driving the CMV in the process of committing them, you can kiss your driver's license goodbye.

    The truck owner will have another driver hired to replace you within a week or two. You, on the other hand, will face large legal fees (remember, you get to pay the truck owner's legal fees too), huge fines, and long prison sentences...and when you get out, you won't have a driver's license, much less a CDL.

    DAC or no DAC, your driving career would be OVER.

    The truck owner, on the other hand, will forget about you shortly after the trial is over and the prison door slams shut behind you.

    Trust me, the law is NOT on your side. If you choose to play hard ball, you WILL lose, and you will face SEVERE consequences. The pay dispute may very well be a civil matter...so contact your state labor department and have them investigate the matter. The truck/trailer/cargo theft, fraudulent attempt to place a lien on the truck title, and the attempted extortion, however, are ALL criminal acts, with very harsh criminal penalties that go along with them.
     
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  11. shredfit1

    shredfit1 Road Train Member

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    Your premise would be correct, If the driver was formally fired prior to signing for the BOL(the employer would of course, need proof of this for litigation discovery). You keep assuming that there is crimminal action being taken by legally disputing a contract in which a acting agent has signed for and undertaken. The law, takes no real sides. Only arbitration with Subpoena Duces Tecum, or the companies books for discovery in the dispute and motion will resolve the civil arbitration case.

    Obviously, after the case is resolved, the 'employers' truck/trailer/cargo would be returned with a court adjudication return date... usually within 90 days.

    I hate to break this to you, but the employer will have no recourse but to face the contract dispute in court via arbitration. You are right, trucking is a different critter.

    They don't call it "hardball" for nothing. :biggrin_25525:
     
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