Rights of a small Trucking company owner

Go get the truck right now. On payday, cut him a physical check, and hold it for him at the office. You had to go get your truck, it's only fair that he has to come get his check. If he inquires, just say his bank info was deleted from your system the day he quit (cite security reasons...in the event of a breech, you want to limit the potential damage to current employees, not former ones...it's for your own protection!) so his last check cannot be direct deposited. In many states, you can't withhold the check, so cut the check for the full amount due. Put it in an envelope with his name on it...available to him just as soon as he gets there to pick it up. Depending upon the bank and state laws, that'll give him 3-6 months before banks will no longer accept it...but that isn't YOUR problem.

Of course check with your lawyer before you pull something like that...if it's legal, it'd be pretty amusing to pull off.

 

Funny as hell what goes on in this business

 

There are always two sides to every story, and many times the truth lies in the middle.

 

You DONT need a lawyer to give you a lesson in common sense (well maybe you do???)
If your time has no value, then draw this thing out till hell freezes over.
Otherwise, as has been said already, go get the truck! Pay the driver! And move on!
If you had left at the start of this thread, you, and your truck, would both be home by now...
Next time check references carefully.

 

More information is needed. Moreover, law varies from state to state.

 

In Tennessee he would have the employers ### in court Probably not good advice.

Tennessee – Wage Payment Laws

 

Dont worry about your rights in this instance! He/she is not going to take you to court for $1000-$2000. That driver DOES NOT deserve to get paid. He/she is a coward for abandoning your truck!
I am a small fleet owner and I treat all my drivers with respect and try to accommodate them as much as possible, but those few bad apples are the worst of the worst!

 

Depends on the drivers state of residency. Some states require immediate payment, some allow you to wait until payday. Speaking from experience, you need to consult a Labor Attorney to find out what your state requires. You have to be careful when you hire out of state employees, you will need to know what their Labor laws are as well. In most states all the ex-employee has to do is file a Labor Complaint, the Labor Board will send you a letter stating a complaint has been filed, and you will have 10 - 30 days to respond, depending on the State. If the Labor Board finds against you, expect an audit of the books, as well as penalties. Being an employer is not easy, and all it takes is one to put you under the microscope.

 

Nah, if you come to my business, located in my state, to work for my business (again, located in my state), then the only labor laws that matter are the ones here in my state, where my business is located. You can file a claim with the labor department in any of the other 49 states, and they may even say the labor laws of THEIR state were violated...but you know what? I'M not in THEIR state, so THEIR laws don't really matter HERE. And if they send me a letter or otherwise attempt to enforce THEIR laws outside of THEIR jurisdiction, I'll first politely tell them to pound sand, before I impolitely tell them to pound sand. State laws in other states don't matter...only federal laws and the laws of THIS state, where my business is located.

 

My Dad is a farmer, and from an experience that just wrapped up a few weeks ago, the Labor Board of the other state will rule against you. He has no business presence in Texas, has never done any business with any entity in Texas, yet the Texas Labor Board ruled against him. An employee went home to Texas, didn't come back, call, text, nothing. 3 months later a letter is in the mailbox, the no-show employee filed a Labor Complaint, stated he was not paid, and the Labor Board gave my Dad 30 days to pay, and added on a penalty and interest. My Dad thought the same thing you did, didn't pay and trashed the notice. 2 months later and the local Sherif's Process Servers showed up, served him with a Superior Court Order to pay or the Court would freeze assets, place liens, or seize property to satisfy the Labor Board's Judgement, and of course now there were Court Fees, and the Labor Board's Attorney Fees added on, as well as additional interest and penalties. The original paycheck would have been $1,740, by the time the Court was finished, $6,812. He has a Labor Attorney on retainer, the Labor Attorney told him, for him the Courts would most likely not rule in his favor, most Courts frown upon non-payment of wages when the employee did the work. He said if by chance the Court ruled in his favor, recovering the costs are almost impossible. You can't sue the employee, they didn't bring the legal action, they just asked for an investigation into why they didn't get paid.
He ended up writing a check for pay, penalties, and interest. Now he won't hire anyone out of state.