Rules..Rules... and fines!?

I believe that is probably illegal to.

 

If you are an "Employee", No, it is not legal for them to "fine-you" for anything like this.
At the $ 200-400 levels, it gets to be financially positive to hire an attorney to go get that money back from the company (assuming, they "actually" withhold/deduct the money from your pay-check).

If you are an OO / contractor. Then, yes they can. If it's in the contract you signed.

 

what violations are the companies paying fines on???????

are they getting fined for OOS violations????? that we don't know about.

 

There are plenty of scraps to choose from in both the driver pool and the company pool. If you're a good driver you don't need to settle for the scrap. Let that company settle for the scrap; they'll be all the happier with all that driver-fine revenue streaming in.

 

Carriers. And they go looking for warm bodies at mills. I don't know where else you might expect seat fillers to be found.

Sure carriers could train drivers, but ~half of rookies still abandon the industry within 6 months, and after the first month I imagine most are thinking about at least changing ships; "there has to be a better gig than this one out there". Seem 'em here all the time, complaining about nothing more than what is "trucking".

Sure training at mills is the absolute minimum and on the whole not very good, but they have to start with 4-wheelers who effectively know less than nothing about motor vehicle operation because half of what they think they know is wrong... and they tend to think they know everything. You train them, and they throw that training right out the window in favor of what they have convinced themselves they already know. I wish I had a nickle for every student who thought they were going to teach the class, and a dime for every student who thought they were going to school the instructors, and a quarter for every veteran I saw fired for refusal to alter their "driving" habits.

 

Many company drivers and even some O/O may not know, but yes for some violations a state can levy fines to the carrier. Driver may not get a ticket, but the carrier does.

 

My company does and has done this for years. I've only a paid a couple of times, and it's been a wake up. As others have said, if your doing your job correctly, then it shouldn't be a problem. The reason companies do this, they get tired of drivers getting lazy and failing to do their job properly, and it costs the company money and CSA points.

 

The reason companies do that is the drivers let them steel from their checks and don't stop it. It is against the law.

 

No, it is not absolutely against the law, please turn in your law degree, quit the bar assoc. and go back to truck driving.

Local consumer advocate radio show, been on the air more than 30 yrs., seems like every few months someone calls to ask if it is legal to do this, and every time they have on an employment lawyer to discuss things employers can and cannot do. It is legal, within reason and according to state law for an employer to hold an employee responsible for fines resulting from the employees negligence in following federal, state or local rules, laws or regulations that result in a fine or monetary penalty to the company. Depending on state laws, employers can require an employee to pay for the damage they cause to company equipment. They can also keep/hold your final paycheck until lawsuits, traffic accidents (insurance payouts) or other settlements are adjudicated to offset the employers losses if the termination is a result of the above.

Example: In my case, it is my responsibility to make sure that all containers returned to the rail are swept clean, nails pulled, pics taken to show they are clean. If I don't, and the container is dirty inside, the rail will catch it within a day or two. They in turn will clean it out, take pics of before and after, then fine the company $100.00 for clean out, for failure to follow policy (a nationwide policy of the UPRR), after $1,500 in fines or refusal to pay the fines, the UPRR can pull our interchange for any where from 10 days to permanently. If that happens, we go out of business. Thus, my employer will fine $100.00 me (or any of my coworkers) for failing to do this, as it negatively impacts the company and ultimately me. Alternatively, when the company started this new rule last week, I could have balked and quit, but, since I follow the rules, sweep out containers and provide pics, I don't worry about it.

Again, the namby pamby response of screw the company, make them pay, falls into why companies pay such low wages, because, in addition to them being bottom feeders, they attract bottom feeders who don't give a #### about company equipment, they just get in the truck and go. 5 yrs ago, three weeks after we took delivery of my tractor, Western Express driver pulling out of the dock next to me, failed to check the securement of his trailer doors. As he went by, the door hit and broke my mirror, mirror cover and trim pieces that cover the mirror mounting point. I demanded his company information and his information to turn in to my company. His balked, was incredulous that I would care about what happened to my employers equipment, his direct quote: "dude, seriously, you would file a damage claim over what, $200 bucks, just tell your boss you don't know what happened to it, I mean if they are that cheap that they would complain about it, find a different company". Yep, and the 2 yr old Freightliner he was driving looked like it was 20 yrs old.

 

drivers steal from employers by not doing their job
a driver does his job he need never worry about fines for not doing his job
sick of lousy employees blaming trucking companies