Ok, I am thinking about returning home, at the end of the summer. I will have 20mo otr, and will have fully fulfilled my obligation to the company by atleast 8 months.

I want to protect my DAC and give proper 2 weeks notice....

Question...

I will have a week of vacation time, my thought was to request the vacation time, for which I will have to leave my truck at a terminal, the terminal is 800 miles away from the house.

I was thinking, request the vacation, and a week before returning to the terminal for vacation, giving my 2 weeks notice.

Would this be kosher? or should I give notice 2 weeks before start of vacation?

Main thing is I also want to protect my ability to get home in a more cost effective method, which would be to have my wife drive down and pick me up. I dont want to book a flight because dates could change at the last minute....and I wont ride a bus.

I am of the understanding that they may call me in and terminate my employment upon my giving 2 weeks notice, this seems to be a common practice with most companies.

Sorry for the jumble of info and thoughts.


K

I would give them the week before vacation notice and that way if they take a nasty turn towards you (not unheard of!) then it will only last one week at the most.

Now, when you turn the truck in, if there are any lingering maintenance issues with the vehicle, get them fixed, or at the very minimum have them well documented and the reason why they cannot be fixed. If possible have it washed within the day or two before turn in. Make sure that you leave it clean and presentable, and when you turn it in, have someone in at least a partial position of responsibility come out to the truck with you and be there as you do the post trip inspection of the truck. You sign the post trip inspection sheet, and have them countersign it, then make a copy of it for yourself. This is going to serve as your receipt for the truck and any company owned equipment that goes with it.

I would recommend that you pull a copy of your DAC right now before leaving, and make sure that you have it to compare with anything they could possibly put on there. The timing of their comments could easily indicate a nasty attitude towards someone leaving, and you want to be in a position to prove otherwise.

You want to leave on the best terms possible, and avoid any problems, yet be prepared to a nasty shove out the door. In a perfect world, this wouldnpt be needed, but unfortunately we have all seen enough of these experience happen not to take the chances when walking away.

Make an inventory list / receipt of company property in your possession. Make them sign for it all, including the truck and it's condition. Doing this will, of course, protect you, and will send a clear signal to your managers that messing with you won't be worth the hassles.

Personally, I'd burn any vacation and sick days prior to springing the news on them. The less someone owes me when I give them the good-bye wave, the more comfortable I am with their lack of leverage.

it is federally MANDATED that any vacation time is paid...if you have earned vacation time, they HAVE to pay you for it when you leave.

I will pull a dac too, for the $8 or $10 it will be worth it to have it before hand.

I hope there is not a problem, but I am prepared to provide myself transport from anywhere in the USA if necessary.


Now the company has many terminals, I am requesting the HT and Vacation at my home terminal, which is a full service terminal. I wonder if they will jerk me around and send me to the opposite end of the country to a terminal.

I hope this goes smoothly when it goes down...we will see, got a little while.

K

Since this puts you actively into the job market, try to line something up beforehand if you can. That way, the new company pulls a DAC long before the old company gets a chance to put anything in place. Most new employers agree not to contact your current employer under those circumstances since they know you have not given your 2 weeks notice yet. And if the new employer knows you are handling the departure from the old job properly, that tends to award you a few brownie points at the beginning.

Also, if you have something lined up beforehand, when you stop working and the money stops coming in, you aren't under as much pressure to get a paycheck coming in right away. That can be a terrible pressure and it drives a lot of people into less than ideal jobs.

I have the luxury of my military pension as a backup, and it provides me with an opportunity to stop and look around that many people don't have.

Most of the companies I am looking into do not use DAC.

Also I am planning not to get another job till atleast July. I have made enough $$$ to pay off all of my Debt, and my wife makes enough to pay all of our bills in 1/2 of the month.

My major problem is the companies I am looking into, need the driver yesterday, and I am not available to interview, being on the road 3 weeks at a time, so I wait.....longer I dont work is more miles on the new motorcycle....

Also, I will get a lawyer and SUE my former employer if they slander me on my DAC. That will not be tolerated by me, I dont envision this happening, but am prepared for anything....

K