Shady new policy

Ok. So a driver refuses to sign such an "agreement". Company then dismisses driver. Is driver eligible for unemployment benefits and can the company be subsequently charged by the state due to being released under these circumstances? Food for thought. I don't know the legal answer. I'm just asking.

I would probably not sign such an agreement. But the company is going to wish they had never went down this road once the maintenance -demands- begin coming in. They don't realize the number of issues drivers "let slide" because they are borderline and would be probably be overlooked 8 in 10 times during a level 1 or 2.

 

I wouldn't drive for a company like that.You know darn well they are going to take full advantage of that policy and charge drivers for every little thing.Which means they'll be getting loads delivered for free and making a huge profit while driver stays broke.Dont know if it's illegal or not but I would be looking into that ASAP.

 

Hope you find a new job quick.If company won't fix issues you should not be responsible if that tarnishes their csa score.If they wanna play dirty then you do the same by refusing to drive till whatever gets fixed.There should be a policy on the people who won't fix whatever youre complaining about.

 

But, to play devil's advocate. One should ask the question "What rash of recent problems have led to such a reaction by the company?" i.e. how many issues have they had problems with that easily could be traced back to a driver NOT notating the issue to the responsible person(s)?

Companies don't normally resort to such policy creation proactively; it's usually a REaction to developing trends.

But, just the same, I'd have a problem with it, because I know push comes to shove, most companies refuse to pay $400 for a new tire [or similar issue] just on the driver's request because frankly, there are a lot of drivers who make mountains out of mole hills.

 

99% sure that is totally illegal , and it is definitely wrong. You need to start looking for a different place to work immediately. you should give your notice via the QC and an email. Make sure you leave a paper trail and you should include the reason of that illegal plan to confiscate your pay for their crappy equipment.

 

I'm not sure if it's legal UNLESS there is compensation for signing. Employment contracts and nondisclosure agreements in most jurisdictions are not binding without consideration, even $1 will suffice.

I went through a number of employment contracts and NDA's in my nontrucking career and consulted good attorneys to review the contracts every time. If I were in the OP's shoes I would take a copy of the contract to an attorney. Sounds like the company would balk at such an idea. Second, I would insist on a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $5K. I would also have the attorney modify the contract to make the company compensate the driver if defective equipment that has already been brought to the attention of the company that has not been fixed results in an inspection penalty.

I worked in sales for a small packaging company years ago. They were taken over in an "unfriendly" manner by a financier. One day the guy shows up in the sales office and hands out a 20 page agreement with a complex formula for calculating bonuses. It was obviously meant to penalize sales for mistakes in production or other issues out of our control. I immediately said, "I want a $50K signing bonus." All the other salespeople looked at me, then all of them wanted $50K too. Mr. Finance walked out with those unsigned contracts and we never heard another word about it.

 

This company which was pretty good all in all, I did a L/P through, it took Freightliner & title company, and the old owner longer to do everything than the dude thought, so I drove a company tractor for a week and got paid my O/O rate.
The first pre trip I do on this company tractor, there are like 7 gallons of water in containers under the bunk / drivers side. I'm thinking wow. So I'm nosing around the engine compartment, fluid reservoir is full, but the cap is gone. I walk around to the drivers side, and there's the cap on the inside fender, covered with a film of dirt ( been there for a little while ). I installed the cap. This was in the month of June in Phoenix. Truck never used a drop of coolant in the 3200 miles I put on it that week.
So all hail the company driver that rather than saying " Hey I lost the cap. " Drove around leaking coolant, and went through the trouble of filling up 7 old coolant jugs, and stocking the truck with them.