covenant to start charging drivers for idleing??

Angie watch yourself this is not a weekly hour thing. Its not a flat 25 hrs per week or 30 hours per week. I could almost live with that. Its a percentage of what you run. Read the letter on the website check your qcomm idle time option key arrow, arrow, arrow 1 for driver info hit enter to look at other screens.

 

My first truck belonged to my father... I learned very quickly not to simply idle. Maybe that's why I don't now.

I also consider many people may idle to remain comfortable. That's sometimes bad, but then I wonder if they aren't concerned with killing batteries, personal health or whatever. I can't say why everyone has idle time. But I can say if it isn't too hot or too cold, I'm not likely to leave the truck running unless I know of a reason it may not restart when I need it running.

In the end, I think Covenant will either lose many drivers over this issue, or see a class action lawsuit cost the company even more money than it saved. And maybe both. I just can't see a legitimate reason to tell drivers they have only limited idle time before being charged a fee, which the company says it will take from their pay...

And it may vary elsewhere, but in FL, I was in court when a judge told a guys former employer to pay all "earned money" to that employee, or face losing his business license. The judge told that man something like, "When you agree to pay someone for a job and they work, our law requires you to pay them, even if they break your equipment or cost money you hadn't planned for." He added that it is not your right to take money from a paycheck because you felt like charging the employee for anything. That is to be taken up in small claims court, or criminal court, but not to be done by any employer.

I think there will be no shortage of attorneys looking for customers who want to sue Covenant within the year. People just don't have to "put up with" things which have the potential to harm them, even monetarily. You can't simply charge employees for things they are forced to deal with only because they work for you and expect nobody to make a strong challenge against that action. And you can't take money from a paycheck without written consent or a court order in most states.

 

Covenant will simply require drivers sign a form at orientation that gives them permission to withhold certain expenses, such as "idling" costs. This will cover their backsides in case it gets ugly later. They may even start a program where you have to pay into an idling fund before you get a job there. And some drivers will do it, no doubt. Maybe most will.

 

They're "courting me" and haven't mentioned this yet. I also know someone else who just started with them... No mention there either. But a letter in the mail or a qualcomm msg has been sent to many drivers. Problem is, they can't just force this on anyone and those who have been there since before the rule was enacted will have legal recourse. That's why I think attorneys will be lining up for this one, and I hope they do. If Covenant simply gets away with this, other companies will surely follow suit. The industry owns enough... They don't need our comfort at all times we're out... Business sense is one thing. But until they shut off the A/C at their terminal and office complexes, or start charging every employee in those places... They drivers have a legal "out" to prevent this charge.

 

Simple solution to that (maybe) I heard that in some states you can idle if you have a pet in the truck wiht you.

 

spoken by someone who thinks for only themselves and not the greater good. It would seriously make you happy to have thousands of families starving so you can better yourself??

Dream on if you think any of these big companies will go under..

 

IF YOU USE MY PICKUP TRUCK AND YOU DAMAGE IT YOU WOULD PAY FOR IT RIGHT. SAME WITH DRIVING YOUR BIG TRUCK.

 

You're whining... You know that, right?

He's thinking about the 90 roughly percent of NON-company drivers... The ones without whom, the entire industry would collapse inside of 3 months.

Btw... There's no "G" in Cummins...(see your sig)

No... If you're paying someone to haul something in your personal truck... YOU pay for damages... It's the law in most states. That's why you must license and insure it for any commercial use... The law.

 

Don't say that too loudly, Split. Companies will start prohibiting pets. They will look at a pet as an 'excuse' drivers will use to idle. Taking away people's excuses is a common strategy you see in trucking and in society in general.

 

Some states will write the ticket. And provide you with another "warning" about taking care of your pet, by placing it, and yourself in a motel room.

Others will write the ticket...and invite you to fight the "pet" thing, in court.