Driver Lawsuits: Is Your Fleet Prepared?

Wage Disputes

As we’ve discussed here on this blog in the past, truckers don’t have the easiest lifestyle. It’s one of the reasons for the industry’s extraordinarily high rates of turnover. Many drivers spend long hours on the road—what happens when they don’t get compensated accordingly? They sue. In Anheuser-Busch InBev’s case, drivers sued for $5 million in alleged unpaid overtime wages. Additionally, the plaintiffs claimed that the company denied them proper rest and meal breaks.

In other cases, drivers have filed suits alleging that their employers have engaged in wage theft—for instance through excessive deductions, refusals of benefits, or simple failures to provide salaries that meet state and federal minimums, as a recent lawsuit raised by several port truckers in California demonstrates.

Liability Disputes

Let’s say an accident does occur (flames and flips optional)—who is at fault: the driver or the trucking company? The answer isn’t always immediately apparent. A court must determine whether the accident was intentional or not, and if it took place within the scope of employment—that is, when, where, and how the driver is supposed to be driving. Liability disputes may involve disagreements over insurance coverage, complicating matters even further.

Unsafe Working Conditions

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and as enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, drivers have a right to refuse operating commercial motor vehicles in any way that violates federal safety regulations. If an individual is fired or disciplined for doing so, the employer is likely to face a retaliation claim. Although the vast majority of carriers stay well within OSHA standards, these sorts of lawsuits do still happen, and the associated fines can be costly.

Driver Misclassification

You’ll probably never see them dramatized in a blockbuster movie, but claims of driver misclassification are quickly becoming common—and they present serious a financial risk for trucking companies. In recent years, numerous drivers have sued over their employment status, alleging that they were misclassified by their employers as independent contractors rather than full-on employees. Settlements in these cases have reached the millions of dollars range. If you don’t know the difference between contractors and employees, drop what you’re doing and learn the distinction now.