First Express.Stay away

Sounds like a typical abusive company. Sorry to hear that, and about the kidney stones. Had them myself, they're no joke...

 

what if a company calls someone inefficient and incompetent to another, and on files reported, done in retaliation? Lawsuit?

 

You have what is called a right to work.Now I'm not sure about every state they might differ from state to state.But in a right to work state a company can't say or do anything just to try to keep you from gaining employment that isn't true now if they can prove what there saying is true not much you can do.But if you can show it's not true you can and probably will win.Thats why a lot of companies will only give out hire and end dates to protect them selves from lawsuits

 

Slander or Defamation of character is only possible if they can prove what you said was a complete and total lie if your telling the truth you'll be ok.

 

In Texas this holds true, all a company can say with a reference call is "employee is eligible for rehire" or "employee is not eligible for rehire". Technically they can't even give you a positive review, but they overlook that point.

 

Guys/gals, unfortunately I think the OP could be truthful. I worked for First Express for two years and I've seen things that bothered me a lot. Firstly, if you drop a trailer that you pulled for across the yard to the shop and there is a scrape on it that they have never seen, you get charged $1000. Secondly, i can't tell you how many times that Sonny (safety director) has said or done something to offend a driver in orientation and when the driver speaks up, Ben (the recruiter) will load them up and take them to the TA in downtown Nashville and drop them off. I can personally verify the claims of log tampering as they have done that to me several times when on a Harbor Freight load or Old Time Pottery load. Also, I had major dental surgery and I was put on hydrocodone but they made me drive too. I even had doctors excuse. Finally, let me tell you the straw that broke the camels back. As I said before, I had been with them for two years and made decent money but something has started to change within the company and miles are disappearing from every driver. Three weeks ago I sat at the yard in Nashville for a total of 65 hours. After seeing my miles slowly dwindle from 2300 a week to 1900 a week that was the final straw. I turned in my two week notice two weeks ago today. Well the first week of my two week notice, i once again sat in Nashville for 48 hrs and I just could not afford that. I cleaned out my truck, I turned in every single thing that belonged to them and I parked the truck in one of their service bays as to protect myself from some bogus damage claim by letting the mechanics inspect it that night. Well since they hold you two weeks behind I am just now getting my last pay checks. Guess what, since I didn't finish my two week notice, they retroactively changed my last two weeks pay to "minimum wage for logged hours". So I got two paychecks back to back that were $200. What's crazy about that is they not only changed my pay but they have the power to change my logged hours...

 

^^^^ Detailed post. Thank you for your input. I would take them to small claims court for the balance of your pay. If the way they paid you after you gave notice changed, they're wrong. I realize there may have been some piece of paper you signed In orientation but I would still make a claim. They would lose, and they know it. They're banking you're just going to chalk it up to experience and walk away.

 

Well that's the thing, they do make you sign a piece of paper that lets them pay you minimum wage but when I was in orientation, there was some kind of emergency and they never give that to me to sign. All in all, I wish drivers would ask questions before they go out there. The fact that they make you pay for the drug tests and company handbook and other things up front; they don't let you take the truck home, it has to be parked at an Averitt terminal; they put driver facing cameras in the trucks only to take them out 5 months later; if you have a family member pass away and need time off, they request the name and address of the funeral home to "send flowers" when actually it's find out if you actually had a family member pass away. All of these things are fact and can easily be proven and if I hadn't been desperate for a job 2 years ago I would've stay far from this company. Fact is, this company does not encourage a team environment but instead promotes an "Us versus Them" attitude.