Fired for being stopped at a weigh station.

I drove for a local aggregate outfit that was known for their lack of maintenance. DOT checked us out every chance they got, whether it was at the scale or roadside. Once I got on with a decent outfit my number of inspections dropped way off.

 

The EEOC only handles retaliation complaints directly related to retaliation of filing an EEOC complaint. And harassment due to race, religion, sexual orientation, gender discrimination, pregnancy discrimination.

I assure you that federal OSHA and the workforce commissioner you mentioned, are the appropriate channels to lodge this complaint. Not trying to be rude but EEOC has nothing to do with workplace safety. It's not the appropriate agency to handle a complaint of this nature. The EEOC will refer this complaint to OSHA. The federal whistleblower protection program investigates this as an 11c issue under STAA.

 

The op, was inspected at the waverly scale many times, and put out of service, and both of the customers had complained about him to the company. The Unnamed company had went through a recent audit, so either a new company, or a bad company.

This all happened within Texas, a right to work state. Did the driver violate any laws, or company policies? YES, driving unsafe equipment, out of service at scale, late appointments, and customer complaints... In a right to work state, violation of company policy is enough to terminate any employee, so long as all employees who violate the policy are fired.

The OP can spin his wheels, and give some lawyers work, and himself grief, or learn from the situation, report the company here, so others know how this company operates, and move on.

This board was created for drivers to report companies to other drivers, like Hireright does for the industry.

 

Is that bad?..

 

It is if one does so and no one is watching.

 

So you were operating a piece of equipment that had faulty equipment, brakes no less, and you knew about these issues?
You drove that truck, nobody forced you.
Now had you refused to operate that truck and trailer with faulty equipment and they fired you, then possibly you have a leg to stand on.
You were put out of service, Twice!
You have responsibility

 

DeusyJ29,

If it helps, I don't see anything here that would stop your claim for unemployment benefits if you need some temporary assistance. The company may dispute it, but keep after it and you will win. If they do dispute it, you will find out more about your termination. If the customer complaints are baseless, and you really like the job (and based on the description of the equipment, I don't see how you could, even if you weren't let go), you probably have grounds for wrongful termination, but the chance for you to get any kind of remuneration without first going out of pocket big bucks is little to none unless you have enough former co-workers to join you in a group action. If you're a good driver with a clean record, you'll be hired in no time.

It sounds to me like they probably expected you to circumnavigate the scales and didn't see you as a team player when you didn't. If there's no way around the scales, and you continued to drive their faulty equipment through there, it's on you because you took the junk out of the yard. It's not a rocketship. You know what's wrong with your truck as much or more than DOT does. Park the crap in the yard and tell them you're not driving it until it's fixed. Stand your ground and don't be afraid to lose your job when you know you're in the right. If you get fired when you know in your heart that you were really trying to do the right thing, then that's not a company you need to be working for.

 

So far I'm seeing a pattern with you, tickets at scale house, being put out of service more than once, do you know who's job it is to make sure the equipment is up to DOT standards before pulling onto a roadway? It's yours, doesn't seem your doing a proper pre-trip before heading up, this is trucking 101! Sorry, you do not have a winnable case for wrongful termination

 

Plus you don't have to carry the points on your PSP for the next 3 years.