What do you like about Jb hunt!! They gotta have some good qualities right!!!!

Keep us posted !!!!!

 

I worked for J.B. Hunt for 4 years on there dedicated rite aid pharmacy account in Baltimore. That is the highest paying account J.B. has, average was $55,000 - $65,000. It was a day cab local job, and it was a good account for a time. Was making $.49 a mile and $33 a stop, averaging 3 stops a night.

I agree with most people that J.B. Hunt will screw you on your DAC report, when I quit they said "company policy violation" on my DAC. I never missed a day and was always doing extra work and they still screwed me. It makes it hard to find a job when they mess up your DAC.

I would just stress to be careful, it always looks rosy in the beginning, and recruiters and orientation staff will tell you whatever you want to hear. Good Luck!

 

Diabello, do you know what company violation the DAC referred to? I mean are you saying that the charge was totally unfounded? That you were never counseled about a violation?

I know JB is rather strict about adhering to their policies and you may think they are rather nit-picky, but generally speaking they make you sign off on any write-ups so you had to know about it. And if you disagreed you had a process to which to dispute it long before it was put on your DAC.

I'm not necessarily saying you are lying or defending JB here just trying to get you to clarify whether the alleged violation was out of the blue or if you had prior knowledge before you left JBH.

 

Roadkill, I was never written up or counseled about anything. Back this past winter the weather was pretty bad one night, I called into dispatch and told them did not feel comfortable about going in the mountains of west virginia to deliver the load. They said okay to come into the office and could talk about it there. I went into the office and sat around for like 3 hrs and the weather was not clearing up and I told them I would not deliver the load in this weather. They told me to take the load and said if I refused I would be fired on the spot for company policy violation of refusing a load.

This is the only time I refused a load and it was because of weather. After 4 yrs I think I would have been treated better then this. That night I was fired right on the spot.

I have since filed a wrongful termination suit and currently waiting for it to go to court. It will be tough because they have high priced lawyers on retainer and fight every lawsuit to the end.

 

Was this communication on the OBC or over the phone?

Rule number one of CYA is to make sure such messages back and forth are on the qualcomm so there is a written record of the dialogue. When FMs ask you to call them it is often because they don't want their words (or yours) recorded.

And if there was a safety issue such as bad weather you should've called the safety department as soon as your FM gave you heat about not driving in bad weather.

There is no doubt that FMs are often about saving their own rear ends while throwing yours under the bus. Any experience in trucking at all should've taught you this. And this type of CYA goes with ANY TRUCKING COMPANY not just JB.

If you did have your messages about not driving due to safety concerns on the qualcomm then you should be able to win a wrongful termination case. But as I said the best course of action would've been to call the safety dept as soon as your FM started threatening you. Hopefully you will be wiser next time.

 

It was in person with dispatch, no qualcomm messages at this account. I did call safety and they said it was my call on whether to take the load or not, but said per company handbook which I signed said any refuse to deliver load could lead to termination, it was up to the general manager at each account to determine punishment.

I have requested a copy of the phone call from safety for the wrongful termination suit, have to wait to see if they actually produce it.

I did learn a lot from J.B., I liked the account but am happy to no longer be there and to see how other companies really treat drivers.

 

The only other suggestion to help you in your fight I'd have for you is to see if there is some way to look up the weather reports for the day and approximate time you refused the load. If you can show that the conditions at the time were dangerous you'd have a solid case. We all have different criteria when it comes to dangerous conditions, but if you could somehow track down a weather advisory issued by the state of WV on that day it would greatly help you.

I sincerely wish you the best in your case. No one should have to endanger themselves or their driving record to keep their job. I personally have never experienced pressure to drive when conditions were unfavorable. On the contrary I've encountered mandatory shutdowns with JB at times I felt I should be rolling.