Wrongful Termination for refusal to pay trucking company insurance deductible

[anonymous1978]

My husband works for a trucking company out of Indiana as a independent contractor. Which simply means he is a company driver but they do not take out taxes. He has to pay his own taxes. He is not leasing a truck from them. He is employed by them. In that capacity it is NOT the driver's job to make sure that the load is secured. It is the SHIPPER'S responsibility. Recently he was involved in a accident in one of the company trucks. He was hauling paper and the shipper did not secure the load properly, causing one of the rolls to shift. When it shifted it caused the truck to roll over. There was no speeding involved or error on my husband's part AT ALL. The truck was totalled but my husband was not hurt. (He still went to the hospital). Well a couple days after he was discharged from the hospital, the company contacted him and told him they usually fire employees that are involved in major accidents like that, but he is a valued employee, and a great driver, so if he would be willing to pay the $2500 deductible for their insurance on the vehicle, he could keep his job. They told him they would take out $100 a week. My husband asked why they won't go after the shipper and their response was it will take too long to go through the process. So it is NOT his responsibility to pay the deductible, and the company has conceded to that. What they ARE saying is that even though we know it's NOT your fault, if you still want a job, then pay the deductible so we won't have to pay it and dont have to go through going after the shipper,and therefore losing an ACCOUNT. What I want to know is if this is legal or not or can he sue them for wrongful termination, or demand to keep his job without paying this deductible.

 

[commentator]

Your husband may be misclassified as a contractor, but as a contractor he is not employed by the company. Wrongful termination no. Demand to keep his job, no way. There is nothing but nothing you can sue them for. There's not even any protection for him in the wage and hour laws, because he's not an employee, is not promised at least minimum wage for the hours he works.

For one thing, they haven't terminated him, they've just told him they will if he doesn't pay the costs. Even if he was an employee, it would be perfectly legal for them to do this(terminate anyone who has an accident, regardless of who was at fault). And even if they don't give him any more work, him being a contractor, there's nothing illegal in that. The only time there is a wrongful termination is if an employee (a real live payroll employee) of a company is terminated for an illegal reason, and there are very very few of those, most involving EEOC type issues such as being terminated based on discrimination due to race, sex, creed, national origin, etc. Nothing you've described here falls anywhere even close to it.

Your husband has very little alternative but to either pay the money or find other work. I suggest next time that he not allow the company to pay him as a contractor and treat him as an employee, he should demand to be put on the payroll. There are very strict requirements to be a 1099 contractor, involving being a private company, with discretion about when they work and do not and how they conduct business, which I bet a lot he does not meet that definition. Many employers try it and like it, though, because they think misclassifying people as subcontractors helps them avoid paying not only Federal taxes, but state taxes of many kinds.

If he is fired from his job, he can file for unemployment insurance and contend that the company has been misclassifying him to avoid their tax obligations. This may get them forced to pay state unemployment taxes in on him, but it will be a very slow and unsatisfying process. He's probably making quite a bit more money than he'd make in unemployment benefits, even on the off chance he would be approved for them, and he probably would be better off just paying this off or going somewhere else.

 

[Silverplum]

My husband works for a trucking company out of Indiana as a independent contractor. Which simply means he is a company driver but they do not take out taxes. He has to pay his own taxes. He is not leasing a truck from them. He is employed by them. In that capacity it is NOT the driver's job to make sure that the load is secured. It is the SHIPPER'S responsibility. Recently he was involved in a accident in one of the company trucks. He was hauling paper and the shipper did not secure the load properly, causing one of the rolls to shift. When it shifted it caused the truck to roll over. There was no speeding involved or error on my husband's part AT ALL. The truck was totalled but my husband was not hurt. (He still went to the hospital). Well a couple days after he was discharged from the hospital, the company contacted him and told him they usually fire employees that are involved in major accidents like that, but he is a valued employee, and a great driver, so if he would be willing to pay the $2500 deductible for their insurance on the vehicle, he could keep his job. They told him they would take out $100 a week. My husband asked why they won't go after the shipper and their response was it will take too long to go through the process. So it is NOT his responsibility to pay the deductible, and the company has conceded to that. What they ARE saying is that even though we know it's NOT your fault, if you still want a job, then pay the deductible so we won't have to pay it and dont have to go through going after the shipper,and therefore losing an ACCOUNT. What I want to know is if this is legal or not or can he sue them for wrongful termination, or demand to keep his job without paying this deductible.

http://iot.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/617
"Can my employer terminate me for no reason?
Published 12/18/2007 04:14 PM | Updated 01/30/2013 01:18 PM
Can my employer terminate me for no reason?
Generally, yes. In the absence of a collective bargaining agreement or contract providing otherwise, Indiana employers may hire, fire, promote, demote, layoff, suspend, set their own work hours and policies at their discretion. Employers may not discriminate against their employees because of their age, sex, race, religion, national origin, or disability.

Indiana Department of Labor

Question call the Dept of Labor @ 317-232-2655."

 

[anonymous1978]

Thank You

thank you. I just was not sure if this was a legal issue or not. Your answer was very helpful. The reasons you gave are exactly why they classify the drivers as such. He has chosen to go back to the company and just pay the deductible for now, but I am NOT happy about it. But at the same time as you stated, it is better than him being out of work completely. So i will get over it, suck it up, and drive on. As hard as that will be. I guess this is more an ethical issue than legal issue. Thanks again

Your husband may be misclassified as a contractor, but as a contractor he is not employed by the company. Wrongful termination no. Demand to keep his job, no way. There is nothing but nothing you can sue them for. For one thing, they haven't terminated him, they've just told him they will if he doesn't pay the costs. But even if they do, they don't give him any more work, there's nothing illegal in that. The only time there is a wrongful termination is if an employee (a real live payroll employee) of a company is terminated for an illegal reason, and there are very very few of those, most involving EEOC type issues such as being terminated based on discrimination due to race, sex, creed, national origin, etc. Nothing you've described here falls anywhere even close to it.

Your husband has very little alternative but to either pay the money or find other work. I suggest next time that he not allow the company to pay him as a contractor and treat him as an employee, he should demand to be put on the payroll. There are very strict requirements to be a 1099 contractor, involving being a private company, with discretion about when they work and do not and how they conduct business, which I bet a lot he does not meet that definition. Many employers try it and like it, though, because they think misclassifying people as subcontractors helps them avoid paying not only Federal taxes, but state taxes of many kinds.

If he is fired from his job, he can file for unemployment insurance and contend that the company has been misclassifying him to avoid their tax obligations. This may get them forced to pay state unemployment taxes in on him, but it will be a very slow and unsatisfying process. He's probably making quite a bit more money than he'd make in unemployment benefits, even on the off chance he would be approved for them, and he probably would be better off just paying this off or going somewhere else.

 

[tranquility]

If the driver did actually pay, I'd think he had some subrogation rights against the shipper. While suing the shipper is sure to cheese off his "employer", it might be a way to get the money back.

 

[anonymous1978]

Good Idea

I had actually thought of that myself. Maybe we should give that further consideration.

If the driver did actually pay, I'd think he had some subrogation rights against the shipper. While suing the shipper is sure to cheese off his "employer", it might be a way to get the money back.

 

[RedemptionMan]

If the driver did actually pay, I'd think he had some subrogation rights against the shipper. While suing the shipper is sure to cheese off his "employer", it might be a way to get the money back.

small claim civil judgement but you need to make sure that the contract he signed and the insurance he was provided (long legal contract) does not with hold liability for claims against the shipper.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

OP says it was the shippers responsibility to load the paper roll. Unless this paper roll was loaded and the doors sealed, hubby is responsible to ascertain that it is properly secured. Only if the trailer is pre-sealed is he relieved of that liability.