Wage and Hour Lawsuit?

I know a business not too far from me. A number of trucks. Drivers home every day. Paid 'under the table', paid cash. The owner is at risk for everything built up over the years if just one disgruntled driver reports or blows the whistle. There are even rewards for such whistleblowers, I think. If just one driver gets into a health predicament, gets injured on the job or needs social security disability, for example, could bring the entire company down and everything the owner has built up over the years is at risk. Nothing has been paid in for unemployment insurance, for example.

The 'savings' to the company is trivial compared to the reckless risk.

The larger 'take home pay' to the employees comes at potentially huge expense, too.

All depends who's knocking at the door and why...

 

If I were looking for a driving job, I would prefer working on a 1099 rather than a W2. If drivers were honest and paid their taxes, there would be less interest from the IRS. I would expect that there have been some who have failed to pay their taxes, blew the money and then cried foul when they were caught by the IRS. Some of you want to blame the company and accuse the company of not paying the drivers taxes. I look at the drivers who like working on a 1099, but don't take responsibility for paying their own taxes. It isn't the companies who are breaking the law, it is the drivers who fail to file or pay their taxes. It is the time in which we live, I suppose. People no longer want to accept responsibility for themselves or their families. They just want to take everything that they can and then have others come along and pay for their mischief. The IRS should be going after those individuals who fail to pay their taxes instead of the companies who paid the drivers as agreed, expecting them to do the right thing and pay their own taxes. Just 20 years ago, I don't think this would have happened. I think the IRS may be getting more aggressive due to the over spending by the government. They are grabbing at anything that has money. They know companies are more likely to have the resources to pay them, so they go after the company instead of the tax cheats. Pity.

 

The real pity is always, always blaming and complaining about drivers... no matter what!!

 

If you are talking to me, I don't always blame the drivers. You seem to want to blame the company for the driver not paying his own taxes. I think that blame should be placed where it is deserved. We have too many people who push responsibility on others. I am one who believes that if you sign a contract or give your word, that you should honor your commitment. If you don't want to work on a 1099, then don't. If you don't want to take responsibility for paying your own taxes, then don't. But, don't blame the company because the driver accepted work on a 1099. No one is forced to work on a 1099. Personally, I don't see the big deal. I see no reason to condemn anyone for their decision. Some prefer working on a W2. Not everyone is responsible and will save to pay their taxes. Not everyone will even save for a rainy day. I don't put others down for their decision to work on a 1099 or W2. It is a personal decision that should be between the company and worker.

 

Unless you owned your own business entity, and had your own business license, you were most likely a COMPANY EMPLOYEE who was intentionally misclassified as an "independent contractor," so your shady idiot employer could skip out on paying the required taxes. Even if you signed away rights or 'voluntarily consented' to this arrangement, the courts know the real story behind it. They see it all the time and they throw the book at employers for doing it.

Know your rights. Back your former coworker up and get in on that lawsuit!! Now! Move it.

 

While I respect your point of view, I have to disagree on that. If the utilities are getting shut off and your kids are at risk of starving, you might be forced into working under such an arrangement. If it was actually a "personal decision" and not a legal decision, every single employer would do this to avoid paying their taxes. You know how I know this? Because most employers would pay everybody minimum wage and even less if they could get away with it.

 

If someone has a CDL and decent MVR, there is no reason that they should need to worry about having the lights turned off. I know that sometimes things do happen, such as illness, etc., But, there are many driving jobs and if you believe the rhetoric coming from the ATA, there is a huge driver shortage. A good, experienced driver should never have to worry about paying the bills, at least from not being able to work. They should only need to worry about paying the bills if they don't manage their resources.

I can agree with you about some companies wanting to pay the least amount possible to get the job done. It is really good business to keep labor costs as low as possible, since labor is usually the most expensive cost of operating a business. On the other hand, there are companies willing to pay a good worker higher wages once they prove their worth. I understand what you are saying about needing money and someone taking anything they can to put food on the table. But, the worker doesn't need to stay with a company where they are being poorly treated. I have been around this business for many years. I know there are some poorly run companies who treat drivers and others as disposable commodities. I also think that there are more companies who do the best they can to treat drivers well and pay them according to their value to the company. When most companies find good workers, they will do their best to keep them. Unless you have owned a business you don't know that it is cheaper to pay current employees a higher wage than to absorb the costs of recruitment. It costs carriers a lot of money to recruit, train and put drivers through orientation. It might surprise you at how much it really costs to put a single driver on the payroll.

We all make personal decisions based upon our experiences and objectives. I am a proponent of everyone sitting down and writing a check for their own taxes. It should not be an onus on the back of the company to pay the employee's taxes for them. Perhaps one day we can eliminate income taxes and go to a value added tax or some other type of tax where it works better for everyone.

 

If Hose v Henry Industries is the case the OP has been invited to join, it appears the case is based on claims that Henry Ind failed to paid minimum wage as required under the FLSA (which exempts interstate drivers from federal minimum wage law but not intrastate drivers... ).

So this is a Federal Labor Standards Act case for minimum wages.

Not a tax case.

Most recently (April 2014) the court dismissed a counterclaim from Henry Industries. http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/kansas/ksdce/2:2013cv02490/94256/39

So all the yada yada about drivers paying their fair taxes is (not surprisingly) irrelevant.

Crux of the case is Henry Industries failure to follow minimum wage law.

Claim is the employer, Henry Industries, broke the law...

 

It is a shame that we have people who agree to work for a certain wage and agree to conditions specifically spelled out in a contract that they supposedly read and agreed to and then, several years later, decide that they don't like the conditions or for some other reason, they decide they should get a lawyer to do their fighting for them. Even though they agreed to certain terms, all of a sudden they decide they have been mistreated or not paid a fair wage. It is really disgusting that there are so many drivers who are so unethical. While the leftist courts, (and I use that term loosely), may go along with their allegations, it is wrong. When you make an agreement, whether it involves employment, wages, working as an independent contractor, or other factors, you need to honor your word. When you sign an agreement, you are giving your word that you agree and will honor the terms in the contract. These days, you can give your word and if a time comes when you decide you no longer want to honor your word, you get a lawyer and file a lawsuit. People are much too quick to get a lawyer. When there is potential of a big payout, there is no shortage of lawyers standing in line. Before you go to work for any company you know the pay rate. If you don't like the rate, then don't take the job. If you find later that you don't like the compensation, then leave and find another company. Any legitimate court should throw these cases out and charge the plaintiff's and their attorney's with all costs of defense and give the defendant's punitive damages.