A driver who was allegedly fired for taking rest breaks when he needed them was barred three times from having his complaint heard. Now it has been revealed that, according to court documents, one of the judges who dismissed his complaint “overlooked important evidence.”
Driver Roderick Carter claims that his former employer, CPC Logistics Inc., fired him for doing what every driver has the right to do: Take a break when they’re tired. According to the case report published on FindLaw, Carter claimed that CPC fired him “for engaging in the protected activity of taking breaks when he became too tired to safely drive.”
After being fired, Carter filed a complaint with OSHA on the grounds that firing someone for taking rest breaks is in violation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA). The STAA was put in place to ensure that drivers will be able to refuse to drive under certain conditions. Among other protections, if a driver is ill, tired, out of hours; or if the load, truck, or conditions are unsafe, the STAA is supposed to protect them from being punished for refusing to drive.
Unfortunately for Carter, the OSHA Area Director dismissed his complaint. Then the administrative law judge (ALJ) with the Department of Labor dismissed his compliant. Then the Administrative Review Board (ARB) dismissed his complaint. Finally, Carter pushed his complaint to the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The previous two dismissals had been on the grounds that Carter didn’t have enough proof that his termination was because of taking rest breaks. It seemed to them that Carter had been fired just because he had taken – as the carrier put it – an “unreasonable” amount of time to deliver a load. The ALJ and the ALB both found only one instance where Carter had engaged in an “STAA-protected activity.”
But the Appeals Court judges seem to have examined the case a bit closer than the others that came before. They found that “the ALJ overlooked important evidence” and that CPC admitted that Carter had had multiple conversations with his supervisors about taking rest breaks. CPC’s own statement to OSHA shows that in a specific phone call about one month before he was fired, Carter and his supervisors discussed those breaks. But according to the Appeals Court documents, “ALJ inexplicably found that fatigue breaks were never mentioned during that conversation.”
It is unclear why evidence was overlooked up until this point, but the Appeals Court judges have unanimously granted Carter’s petition for review.
Source: gobytrucknews, businessinsurance, findlaw, justia
It sounds like that those lower courts and that trucking company might have been having a little back door whoo haha, you know what I mean.
I will stop every time when I’m tired, load be damned….anybody that thinks slavery ended in the 1860s has never driven a truck for a living
You got that right!
I agree, but I know there are some drivers that want to stop at every truck stop they come to. If you’re stopping 3 times an hour for breaks, maybe you shouldn’t be driving at all. Don’t know enough about this case to say, though.
Driving a slow truck is so boring it makes me wanna stop too!
Yeah you got that right! A 65 mph truck set 475 hp is the least I’ll drive. Anything less and its short haul only because I’m getting sleepy after 200 hundred miles. And I’m gonna be stopping every 100 miles after that to pee from driving all that dang coffee trying to stay awake…lmao! So you may as well leave me in my W9 with the Big Kitty so i can riiiiide…can you diggit….man!
Oops, i mean drinking!
The days of 100 mph dispatching and 50 mph trucks are coming to an end. Now its gona take 2 drivers to do what one used to do.
Even 2 drivers sometimes can’t do what they want. They expect a truck to do 80 mph when it can only do 68 mph to get a load del or picked up. And the sometimes act as if you instantly get loaded or unloaded the min you bump the dock.
We had a driver like that. Couldn’t pass a service center or truck stop without going in. I had the bad luck to have to follow him because his truck had to be unloaded at our destination before mine. I told dis patch that we were incompatible and not to send us together again. Thank God they agreed.
The government has screwed up the industry so badly with all their new rules and regs that the driver has to be cautious of every move he/she makes…Other anti-trucker groups cry the loudest against driver fatigue…So when a driver recognizes fatigue coming on he/she needs to take a break…Also first year drivers needs to adjust to the new schedule they are working under…This generally takes a full year to completely adjust… Those that are just getting into the industry for work probably never thought this through…It’s hard work, long hours, and plenty of BS to deal with.
I don’t agree with your one year to adjust to driving 11hrs. It took me two or three days to adjust to 11hr. shifts. The problem I see with new and young drivers is that they picked the wrong career to not be able to adjust in a matter of days!
I was just going to pay around $70,000 USD with a Carrier for some equipment. They wanted me to Drive as a “Company Guy” 1st. I agreed for the sake of the deal! I’m actually glad I did! The carrier violated this rule considerably! When they figured out I would NOT play their “GAME”, they said I was fired! So I left. Well I reported them! But in the mean time, they sent me a letter saying they would look at it as; Leave of Absence Time” , and that I could go back to work for them! ??? First, why would I EVER want too? Second, they just figured out they “F’d” Up! Loosing $70,000. Then after my report, they sent me a letter saying I was fired again!??? So I figured good! save myself $70,000!!! 🙂 Then, just last week, during Irma. They actually called me on the phone, left a voicemail (I saved it, so I have proof) Begging me to come back and work with them! Lol! I was amazed!!!!
I made it 30 years driving for myself(believe me thats no picnic either)lost my a– after 2002 Point, these damn trucking fools wont leave me alone and who ever says driving a big rig is fun and great needs to have more than a DOT exam.
A few years ago my husband and I found out I was diabetic, I ended up in ICU w/an extremely high blood sugar. When I came home I couldn’t be left alone until they got my insulin regulated, so if I passed out somebody would be there. My husband was under a load but was at home. His mom was coming to stay with me on Sunday so he could go out and deliver. His load didn’t del until Thursday in OR and we live in WI. He went to check on the truck and load and both were gone. He called the company and they told him that they came and got the truck and the load and that his wife wasn’t any of their concern. He was a independent contractor w/them, leasing one of their trucks. Two weeks later they contacted him and wanted him to drive for them as a company driver. He told them to piss off. Haven’t heard from them since.
They want it both ways (Government & Special Interests) You cant take a break, and you can’t park anywhere, you cant drive when you feel safe, or even stop to sleep..
Time for the robots too kill us all, I suppose, sigh?!!?