Dishonest/deceptive hiring

quad4321

New Member
Am a licensed commercial driver in Florida and have been victimized a couple times when hired for a position. Most currently, I was hired by a Trucking company out of
Florida. On hire, I was told that the pay rate was $60.00 a day PLUS a distance pay rate of $10 a bin within Citrus County and $20 for hauling bins outside
of the county. This would have provided my family with a living wage based on a normal flow of business. When I received my first pay check, the $60 per day base
rate was missing. They only paid me the bin hauling rate and some of the bins were only paid at $8.00.
I confronted my employer with this large discrepancy and was invited to quit if I didn't like it.

. They promise a living wage and then immediately go back on what they offered. Unfortuneitly, I have nothing in writing as I was a fool to take them at their word. I did ask if they ever put these matters in writing and , of course, I was told "no".
Working conditions at this firm are horrible. I am illegally overloaded by customers frequently. Since the driver takes legal responsibility for a load, neither the customer or the company cares. Distribution of weight dependent upon axel limits are ignored. I have to climb over 10' in height regularly and the company provides no safety
harnesses. In order to make enough money on the bin rates, I must work 12 to 15 hrs. a day (If the bins are even available for hauling) for pay of $100 which works out to be $8.00 an hour or less. The bin rate is designed to avoid paying overtime and I can't even stop for lunch or the required 1/2 hour break after 8 hours (D.O.T. regulations) if I expect to finish for the day.
I am not a lawyer and cannot afford one. Can you please tell me what state laws apply to this situation? If my employer even gets a hint that I am asking, I will be fired.
They make no bones about what they will do if anyone has a complaint. I thought if I was armed with chapter and verse on the laws pertaining to this type of abuse that I could go to the Citrus Co. D.A. and formally lodge a criminal complaint. Many D.O.T. and OSHA laws and regulations are being broken as well. This way, my identity can be protected and I will not be fired. YES, I am looking for other jobs but there is a glut of commercial drivers out there and the employers are really taking unfair advantage of the fact. Seems that the entire trucking industry has their pay rate scams. Thank you for your time and attention



Don't use names to name and shame. We don't want YOU or us to get sued.
Don't post your question more than once.
Thank you.
 
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If you are in Florida, Florida and federal law would apply. Nothing you describe is a criminal act. Are they actually forbidding you from following DOT regs or are you doing that in order to shorten your workday? Here is a link to the OSHA regulations on fall protection but there is nothing magical about 10 feet. https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/standards.html

It is possible that you might have a claim under contract law regarding the changed compensation but you will need to talk to a lawyer about this. You can find more about pay for drivers here http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs19.htm
 
Am a licensed commercial driver in Florida and have been victimized a couple times when hired for a position. Most currently, I was hired by a Trucking company out of
Florida. On hire, I was told that the pay rate was $60.00 a day PLUS a distance pay rate of $10 a bin within Citrus County and $20 for hauling bins outside
of the county. This would have provided my family with a living wage based on a normal flow of business. When I received my first pay check, the $60 per day base
rate was missing. They only paid me the bin hauling rate and some of the bins were only paid at $8.00.
I confronted my employer with this large discrepancy and was invited to quit if I didn't like it.

. They promise a living wage and then immediately go back on what they offered. Unfortuneitly, I have nothing in writing as I was a fool to take them at their word. I did ask if they ever put these matters in writing and , of course, I was told "no".
Working conditions at this firm are horrible. I am illegally overloaded by customers frequently. Since the driver takes legal responsibility for a load, neither the customer or the company cares. Distribution of weight dependent upon axel limits are ignored. I have to climb over 10' in height regularly and the company provides no safety
harnesses. In order to make enough money on the bin rates, I must work 12 to 15 hrs. a day (If the bins are even available for hauling) for pay of $100 which works out to be $8.00 an hour or less. The bin rate is designed to avoid paying overtime and I can't even stop for lunch or the required 1/2 hour break after 8 hours (D.O.T. regulations) if I expect to finish for the day.
I am not a lawyer and cannot afford one. Can you please tell me what state laws apply to this situation? If my employer even gets a hint that I am asking, I will be fired.
They make no bones about what they will do if anyone has a complaint. I thought if I was armed with chapter and verse on the laws pertaining to this type of abuse that I could go to the Citrus Co. D.A. and formally lodge a criminal complaint. Many D.O.T. and OSHA laws and regulations are being broken as well. This way, my identity can be protected and I will not be fired. YES, I am looking for other jobs but there is a glut of commercial drivers out there and the employers are really taking unfair advantage of the fact. Seems that the entire trucking industry has their pay rate scams. Thank you for your time and attention



Don't use names to name and shame. We don't want YOU or us to get sued.
Don't post your question more than once.
Thank you.


You may think you were hired as an employee.
I suspect you were contracted to drive freight, in this case fruit.
It would appear you are a contractor and not an employee.
If that is the case, any remedy for underpayment would be sought in a small claims lawsuit.

You might want to discuss your situation with a local attorney who would be in a better position to counsel and guide you.
As previously suggested, you are free to file a complain with the feds or your state.
 
Really... Do you know that you can call DOT right there at the loading point. Tell them... " Hey the SHIPPER has over loaded me and refuses to reduce the weight" They will come right there and use portable scales. If your over weight... They will give the SHIPPER the over weight ticket. My very first job out of the military was hauling produce... I have only had to threaten to call DOT once.... Also.. When it happened to me they tried to make me sit their and wait until they had an opening. A old trucker told me... Young fellow, they are just f-ing with you. Back up to their dock and tell them. Either unload the items to get me within weight or i will start throwing the items on the ground. They got a forklift over as i started pitching boxes out the back. Again... if they OVER LOAD you... Call DOT from there....
 
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