Is this weird?

He wants to hire you as a contractor but your not leasing or making truck payments? I don't think that is even leagle I wouldn't do it unless you had actuall employee status with him .

 

Sounds like the dude will be the owner of two trucks leased to crst. As long as the truck you are driving has a lease agreement with the company and that truck is running on their authority. It is legal. Landstar, where I am leased to, does it that way with one exception any potential driver has to get "approved". This may be the same with the company the owner will be leasing to.

 

If I am not mistaken you will have to be an actual employee if you do not own truck. He will have to take out taxes and social security. But could be wrong.

 

not sure of the legality of 1099, but yes people do it. more often it would be someone that has paid off one truck and is leasing another while hiring a driver (or 2) to drive the older, paid for truck. id be leary of nthe situation you describe for a couple reason. one: crst is reputed to be one of the worst companies to work for, and id have nothing to do with them unless i had absolutely no other options (other company you couldnt pay me enough to work for would be england). i have no personal experience with either of these companies, but read through 100 reviews. if you find 3 good ones in those randomly picked 100, you found more than i have. two: if he really IS currently leasing two trucks from a large company like that, and neither is paid for, he is a horrible businessman. one paid for, i could almost understand. but someone looking to grow a small fleet should not be doing it by leasing more than one truck from the company he works for...its just asking for a bankruptcy. the trucks are typically grossly overvalued, and the interest rate is way too high as well. and working for the same company, they have nearly all the power as to whether you succeed or fail.

 

It's perfectly legal. No different than leasing a truck through an outside lender and signing on the the company. As long as you are a legal employee of his and your trust him, you're good to go. It's no more of a risk then being a company driver, if you quit, he still has the lease and truck payment.

 

This is why a 1099 is very iffy as he is not a legal employee if he is issued one.

A “legal employee” is not an independent contractor and a 1099 is for independent contractors, not employees. To be a “legal employee” his employer needs to deduct taxes and SS/Medicare.

This is a very gray area of the law and you will get a lot of different opinions on it. By strictly following the IRS’s definition of a independent contractor your position would not apply but the IRS does not enforce this with much predictability.

I would not do it, make them employ you as an employee.

 

Exactly correct. If you are told wheere/when to work you are an employee and not eligible for a 1099. I spent 20 years in banking/finance. I have seen people buried by fines and penalties when it catches up to them. A few to the tune of six figures. It will catch up to you at some point. If you cant afford to do it right, then you shouldn't be doing it and you deserve every bad thing that happens to you as a result.

 

Before i bought my truck, i used to work for CRST Malone. Lots of Drivers Lease multiple tractors and hire Drivers. I drove for a Guy and he had 3 trucks. dpwelsher, you are known as a DFO! Driver for Owner and you will have to attend the Orientation for securing steel coils and all that flat bed stuff. I was paid as an Independent Contractor form 1099. How is the owner going to pay you? by the mile, in this case, you win he losses! If he pays you percentage, you will quit the first week once you see your pay! Every DFO that i saw quit one month on the job. CRST? i have first hand experience and these people play a mean game, lots of people lost homes and went bankrupt trying to accomplished the imposible and that is to finish that last payment to own the truck. So your boss might quit 6 months at it and never, never go leasing where the leasing company controls the dispatch! Last thing i heard from my ex boss was that CRST was averaging 67 cents a mile and now he has his trucks with Greatwide averaging $1.67 a mile. Good Luck Driver.