16 Hour Exemption and Coercion

From my understanding of the new coercion regulation...it is almost identical with an OSHA safety complaint. The burden of proof will be on the complainant...you will need a snap shot of the "threat" {if dispatched and/or messaged through computer like QuallComm} (either do it or lose your job, or, after not doing it, your hours and pay suffers), a recording of the conversation with dates and times visible, and if possible witnesses to the action from the dispatcher. Your complaint won't fly based on your word against his...not in a legal proceeding.

 

Sounds like a #### organization to work for. Why are you even there?
Good luck

 

They have a construction exemption where you are allowed to be on duty, including driving for 16 hours for one day during your 70 hour week. I'm not sure how it works, but the Union said yes it does exist. We regularly drove in the neighborhood of 14 or 15 hours a day when I drove the mixer. It was electronically tracked too. No one ever went over 70. It wasn't all driving, but many, many times I'd been on duty 12,13,14 hours then drove back to the plant. 100% legal.
Safety always over ruled though. If you said you were fatigued, you could go home. They would punish you later though, send you home early for months, F/U loads.

 

I'm just saying, but if I had an employee that told me they were too tired on a full complement of hours, it would be very reasonable to give that employee less hours to prevent fatigue in the future.

In court, that would sound very, very reasonable. Out of court, too.

 

Any time a dispatcher tells you to keep going under whatever real or imaginary rules they sprout on the phone or satellite, you tell them ######### and hit the sleeper or go home for the night depending if you are local or OTR.

I recall only two cases in which a dispatcher told me to keep going. I simply did not. It escalated really fast and I took the truck home across three states and told same to come get it. Shrugs.

I recall using that law once or twice in extremis under a Depot Load that has to get there. But over almost 30 years it's exceeding rare. With that said, I balance my later professionalism with a wild early history of 30 plus hour days and nights non stop if not a whole week off the logbook. It was crazy and unnecessary.

That's my position anyhow.

 

I am wondering who is driving this truck? The guy behind the wheel or the guy behind the desk. ###### stand up do whats right! Either stop and rest, or get off this web site and get the job done! Quit trying to figure out what is wrong or right, or what someone else would do.