Rejected load and not paid by company

If the court subpoenas you, then a court subpoenas you. Not much you can do to avoid that.
And no, an employee can't be held liable, but then you weren't an employee. So, how fun is it now to work with someone that told you from the very first thing he was a criminal? Is it really any surprise he's acting this way?

 

So let me get this straight.

You are working as an independent contractor?

Do you have the option to refuse work?

What does your contract say about load refusals?

YOU do have a contract?

Does not matter who pays the expenses for the truck, do you have a contract?

IF you do not have a contract, then you are an EMPLOYEE and you have to file a complaint with the California Department of Labor about misclassification. AND I would also find a real job, not crap like this. The state will also get your wages back from the work you did, plus they will also make sure this POS owner pays the state taxes while informing the IRS on the employee taxes that need to be collected.

If you have a contract, sue him for breech of contract, I doubt very much he has a no-payment clause about rejected loads, most POS owners like this do not have contracts crafted by lawyers to cover much, they usually use boiler plate contracts.

 

Just curious, why was…“refeer (reefer) trailer temperature was differentthen paperwork”

Why wasn’t it set properly?

Aside from everything else legal etc..

If I had as a company driver or whatever screwed the load up by my own ignorance.. I’d expect to be terminated and not paid. But that’s just me.

 

I was thinking the same thing. Why wasn't the reefer temp set correctly? I mean if you hauled a load and didn't care for it by ensuring it was kept at the proper temp, why should you be paid to haul it?

 

It might not be fair but if you do work the company needs to pay you. If you didn't do a good enough job they have the option to fire you. They don't have the option not to pay you.

 

The thing is, even if he was "an independent contractor" by agreement, I'm not sure California would recognize this. He probably was forced dispatch without the ability to refuse loads. And the company paid for fuel and other expenses. So that right there might classify him as an employee. So he CAN go after the company for unpaid wages.

As for him being threatened with a lawsuit, I think the company is using that as a scare tactic to get him to back off.

 

But you must do the work in compliance with the laws (or in this case, rules) set forth.

You didn't follow the rules by setting the reefer at the right temp causing the load to be rejected because it could have all been bad product. That is 100% on the driver, and as much as I hate to say it, you don't deserve to get paid. After all, now the receiver has to pay someone ELSE to haul the load AT THE RIGHT TEMP to his place. How many times does he have to pay for this load?

The guy was not a company employee, but an independent contractor. The contract will state that the load must be in usable condition when it arrives in order for you to get paid.

 

Unless you work as a 1099. People want all the freedom of being their own boss AND the security of being the bosses' employee.
Make decisions like the outcome is important, if the outcome is important to someone.