well im under contract for 8 months and i dont have the money right now to pay the #### off so im stuck there being fok up the bleep bleep

What I do not understand is how they can fire you in an at will state for refusing to drive/on duty for more than 14 hours and a lawyer say oh well it will not get anywhere in court. About a week brfore they fired me I started my complaint with DOT. but they had not began the investigation yet It was still being funneled through the proper channels, since I work and commited the violations in one state and the company is based in another. I hope DOT is as thorough with a company investigation as they are with drivers on the streets. The company approves and demands you work until the job is finished reguardless of your hours. Does anyone know from experiance if the DOT and FMCSA are smoke blowers or actually worthy when it comes to fines for companies who operate like this???????
:bigg rin_25513: DANGER WILL ROBINSON THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY SUCKS

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Steve

You can be fired for ANYTHING in an at-will state, from accidents to tying your shoelaces wrong.

That's the best thing about working for a union company, where that doesn't happen. Non-union outfits just don't want to relinquish that power.

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Z-Lady's devoted hubby.

22 cpm? Are you serious?
Go to work for 7-11 making better than that.

I don't know about the two cents. That might be insurance or something you elected to purchase?

It sounds like you're paticipating in the "per diem" scam that most companies use.

They say you're getting "x" amount to make the payscale look enticing but, it really comes down to your days driving wage minus about $50 per day.

You have to watch what they take out for per diem.

Get off that truck & go someplace that pays a livable wage.

Quit screwing around with those POS slave labor companies.

Even in "at will" states there are rules to prevent you from being fired.

If you are engaging in a "protected activity", they canot legally fire you for that.
You have recourse & although that can take some time, you will make out.

A protected activity means, in general, you were fired for refusing to violate the HOS rules, move an unsafe truck/trailer, travel during certain unsafe weather patterns & the list goes on.

Even if you didn't make out an official complaint to the company for the above safety issues, they cannot fire you for bringing it to their attention verbally.

You sometimes don't even need a paper trail to prove you complained about certain company practices or equipment.
It helps though.

You just have to believe that you were fired for something safety or rule related despite their "official" reason for termination.

Naturally, the other reasons remain such as age, color, national origin, gender & so on.

If you are going after them thru OSHA's whistleblower laws, you have 180 days to make the official complaint.
Get an attorney specializing in these laws to represent you.
Typical employment attorneys don't know much about these laws.

It's a slow process but....you stand a good chance of winning.

If you don't use these laws, they will weaken thru dilution & the companies will continue to abuse their drivers with impunity.

Hey thanks bob it sucks but im under contract

Working for USA Truck was an experience that was shocking to say the least. Having over ten years experience it was always fun to tape record their trainers explaining to me how to falsify my logs to make more money. What really pist them off was my logging as it happens; the fleet manager, also on tape, told me it was company policy to only log 15 minutes for loading and unloading, that is the way this company wants you to log. Even the girl in safety was upset that my pre-trip on occations took a half hour. Their repairs demands on qual com were drag a flat with a Hazmat load, steal a landing gear crank from a JB Hunt trailer. Wanted a steer tire replace and the terminal manager told me it was still good for a couple hundred miles, then the TA mechanic 5 miles down the road signed an affidavits saying it was .0 tred, DOT violation. That really pist them off in the office and they said I would not get any loads if I do not do exactly what they said. Photos of qual com messages, and tape recordings, with signed affidavits from mechanics, and I was only there four months before I was fired for requesting medical leave. Oh know another mark on my DAC for refusing to break FMCSR. Driving while sick or injured; guess those laws are only for the small companies.

Now that you're armed with all that evidence, go find an attorney specializing in OSHA's STAA "Whistleblower laws" & stick it to them.

Doesn't cost you anything if you get one that works on a contingency basis...several do.

You have 180 days to file.

Git er done.

Whistle blower laws only apply if the company knew you had actually filed a complaint with DOT or another Government agency and then fired you. Complaining to the company does not constitute whistleblower protection.
I was fired for refusing to drive/ on duty more than 14 hours a day. If you live in an at will state then they violated public policy and your civil rights for firing you for refusing to break the law. This is what I learned with my research over the last few weeks. I have a DOT complaint being investigated right now and one pendinf with the EEOC for retaliation for refusing to work after the 14th hour.
I am collecting unemployment right now. during my interview with umemployment they asked me if it cost them money or customers. I said who cares it is not my problem. THe company also said they fired me for another reason other than what the gave me in writing. I am trying to complain to every gov't. agency I can. Here in Illinois we have a new no smoking law that the company also violates. I sent the Dep't of health there also. I have not been able to find a contingency lawyer though. The good lawyers want money even for a consultation.
I HOPE YOU CAN STICK IT TO THEM. Too many drivers do not want to take the hit and stand up foranything. weather it is a owner op striking for fuel or company drivers being treated like worthless pieces of donkey dung.

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Steve

The Whisleblower laws were passed by Congress, which does not mean that OSHA of the Department of Labor really enforces those laws. The Department of Labor is like most branches of our government and personnel hires friends and family members and your qualifications are not even concidered. Even with tapes, photos, and signed affidavits from mechanics from coast to coast the DOL will deny your wrongful termination law suit. In 2007 over 90% of cases filed with the DOL were denied. AGAIN THOSE PROTECTION LAWS FOR DRIVERS ARE ONLY AN APPEASEMENT TO THE PUBLIC CITIZEN. The reason for us even having protection or whisleblower laws is to keep the public outrage at a minimum. I have found posting online news articals when a trainee takes out a whole car load of teenagers brings more public awareness to the real problem. Even the newly installed bullet proof glass in dispatch can not stop the pen. The trucking industry has claimed more lives in one year then both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Remember that OSHA is the Department of Labor, and so is Workers Comp, Unemployment. If you get killed driving truck; your dependants get out of state Workers Comp and we all know how good that coverage is, all deaths are denied for drivers error.