CAN MY EMPLOYER TAKE MY PAY IF I GET A TRAFFIC TICKET?

Yes, you can charge a company if they screw up as an employer, that's what state labor boards are for. Some states are extremely tough, oops, your check is late, nice try, the state can force them to pay you interest.

 

Maybe, maybe not, depending on the freight your hauling, and how competitive the market is, $500 could mean the difference between a profit and a loss. I've watched my bosses lose long time customers because someone under bid us by $100.00 on a load and my boss wouldn't go that low take the loss on the load. That company that under bid is notorious for poor service, late deliveries, and problems. It took my bosses 2 yrs to get the customer back because the other company, trying to drum up business was under cutting everyone. That under cutting showed, they had O/O's that worked for 70% of revenue, drove beat up trucks, literally held together with duct tape, tires that were sometimes at the wear bars. It was by a fluke they went under and someone took them over and got rid of 90% of those O/O's, they upped the pay, the rates went up as well, and the market stayed even.

 

Actually, the insurance has a big say in things. Back in '05/'06, I had a bad run off 14 mos, racked up 6 tickets, 4 in Nebraska (so no points) and 2 in Colorado. In mid '08, the insurance came back and gave the company and me two options: A. They could fire me or B. The company could turn my truck back to 65 mph (the boss actually set it to 67 mph) for three years. Option B carried a rate increase, in a round about way, I paid for that rate increase, my pay was frozen for three years. Given that I had those 6 tickets, trying to find another job would have been hell at that time given that the recession had just started and companies were getting rid of people left and right.

BTW, something to consider, a lot of smaller companies, before they hire someone now, will often run that person's record by the insurance company to see if they will cover them. I forget the name of our new insurance carrier (very picky, very difficult insurer to get on with), but they require that my boss pulls MVR's every 6 mos., no more than 3 moving violations in 36 mos., we also have to run all new hires by them first. We also have to do mandatory quarterly safety handouts that in a few cases have forced us to go online and register to participate in the safety briefing.

 

Not sure what's to figure out. I remember a saying I heard long ago, " Rule#1, the boss is always right. Rule #2, if the boss is wrong, see rule #1". And I never forgot that. Don't like it? Be your own boss.(and I did) I think in this day and age, people have a problem working for someone someone that calls the shots. Trucking is that way, you THINK you are on your own but you're not, unless your name is on the door. It was my work ethic, and if I screwed up, there was a price to pay for that. You can bet that wouldn't happen twice, if the boss kept you on, that is. People just want to bypass the consequences today. Butt-chewin's don't work today and I got plenty, so hit them in the wallet. Instant results. May sound harsh, and obviously, doesn't fly with today's crybaby's, but THAT, my friends, was how it was and I respected that. Made me a better driver, and I never, in 35 years, got a ticket(except for those pesky overweight one's, which came out of my pocket too, and I had it coming for not making sure I was legal), so I know what I'm talking about.

 

It has been figured out in court thousands of times.

EEOC deals with discrimination issues, not labor issues, the Department of Labor would if this was an issue with classification but in this case the state labor board or department is where it would land.

AND if your company is so cheap to worry about $500, then they don't need to be in business. Small companies can generate easily $25k in weekly revenue so being cheap only makes it a crap company to work for.

 

There is no one-size-fits-all answer, because it is a state issue. Every state has it's own rules, which employers in that state need to follow. There might even be some states that try to reach across state lines to affect employers in other states who hire their residents...but that just seems like overreach to me, because if the business has no physical presence in a state, that's a bad precedent to set because state laws can be contradictory so there is no way to be 100% compliant with all 50 states (and Canada) all at the same time, and a company with 50+ different "official policies" regarding certain payroll and disciplinary actions is going to need one hell of a legal department.

 

My EEOC/ Employment lawyer says no since your pay is Wage and Hour under federal law. No company can legally take money from your paycheck unless YOU signed a document allowing them to do so. Each state has it's own employment laws but most follow the federal Wage and Hour laws in some fashion.