Rights of a small Trucking company owner

In a lot of states (all?) that is illegal. Money cannot be withheld except for contracted reasons and gross negligence. Leaving truck 2 hours away will not fall under gross negligence, as that means willful destruction and the like.

 

Look ignore all the other advice

Get in your car with another driver, take your spare set of keys for the truck, copies of the registration and cab card, a camera with extra batteries, and ten gallons of fuel. Also bring any employment paper work that he would have to sign for a separation, like an acknowledgment of him returning the truck, with the disclaimer of a full inspection that is made after the truck is returned to the yard.

Go pick up the truck.

Document the hell out of it even if it looks perfect. Take a crap load of pictures and make sure that if anything is missing, document it.

Remove all his personal equipment, be gental with it, treat it special and put it into a crate and if he not there tape it up, put a date on it and take a couple pictures of it.

DO NOT ALLOW HIM IN THE TRUCK.

Do a full pre-trip of the truck, don't miss a thing.

Then if the driver is there, have him sign the separation paper work, return him his stuff, have him sign that he got all his stuff (have him go through it) and leave.

When you get it back to your place go through it carefully, document anything else that is wrong that could be his fault.

Then pay him, you have fifteen days to do so in most states.

If anything is wrong, take it as a loss, don't try to hold the paycheck back or anything like that.

Then put on his dac report abandoned truck.

THEN MOVE ON!

This is the right way to handle it, and this is what a lawyer would tell you to do.

Do not play games if he is a jerk like this, when someone calls be honest, tell them he quit without returning the truck and that's it. Nothing more. Do not tell them how he is as a driver, what he did or didn't do, just what I said.

 

That's what I told him to do. I just didn't use 15 paragraphs like you did

Messing around with an employees pay check never turns out well, in most cases.

 

Yeah I know but it is a touchy legal thing, if he screws with the driver, he could end up losing more than just the recovery of the truck.

 

You don't need a lawyer for everything you know

 

but it helps to have a lawyer. why search for one when you really need it, when one is already available and knows you, your business, your assets to cover? i think that searching for a lawyer in time of need, only jacks up his/her fee at that time.

sorta like the ole..."supply and demand" scenario........or Boy Scout motto..."always be prepared"..????

 

You CANNOT with-hold any earnings from an employee for any reason.

I Know,It Sucks.... But That's Why You MUST ,MUST Hire Drivers that are a Better Quality.

I Hear this noise all the Time,Drivers Abandoning Equipment..I blame Part of that on the Hiring Process- You Don't just put the first Guy you Get in the Seat just because he has a decent driving record

You'll have to recover the Truck, Pay Hime his last 2 Checks..THEN ,only Then, You can Recoup fees For Damages, Recovery Fees In a Civil Matter, By Billing Him Or taking Him to court.

Again, You Cannot Withhold his Earnings For any Reason- Even If he Signed a Statement you may presented to him.

 

I had a guy do that, abandoned the truck with a load on it. He did not get paid, and his wife came at me, I gave her my attorney's phone number, I never heard from them again.... Until the unemployment office called. That was a fun call too, he did not collect, and he did not pass go. Screw him, use his pay to recover the truck and then send him a bill for your time.

His pay was the recovery cost +.

 

Exactly what my experiences have been.

 

Even under gross negligence you cannot withhold anything other than taxes, fica etc or any previous agreed upon, and signed fees and/or fines...