Quote:
Originally Posted by Snowman7
violated 49 C.F.R. § 396.7(a) which operations of a vehicle "in such a condition as to likely cause an accident or a breakdown of the vehicle."
The bottom line is they expected him to drive junk that would not pass inspection. Junk that endangered his life and the lives of others. Then they offered him equipment he is not qualified on or legally licensed to drive. Also risking his life and lives of others. When he refused they fired him. Your answer would be he go find another job and the company just go about ignoring inconvenient laws and risking lives of the motoring public? I wouldn't expect anything else from you. Every man for himself right? I'm sure if you had it your way the employee would not only keep his mouth shut and drive the truck but also do it for minimum wage with no benefits and paid on a w2 or better yet cash under the table.
The only thing that I recall that was wrong with the vehicle was a coolant leak. Tell me how that would have been an unsafe vehicle or junk? I have had coolant leaks on my trucks over the years. I usually don't let those things go. I don't want to take a chance of one of my trucks breaking down. That doesn't mean that my trucks are junk. Anyone can have a coolant leak. I am not saying that there could not have been other things wrong with the truck, but unless I missed something he refused because of the coolant leak. I am not sure that I would have driven it myself if it were bad enough. But, unless other facts were omitted from what has been stated, I don't see why he should have filed a lawsuit, much less prevailed in a court of law, providing the only offense was a coolant leak. If having a coolant leak is considered having an unsafe vehicle, you would have tens of thousands of unsafe vehicles on the road.
The driver was given an opportunity to drive a different vehicle. He apparently didn't have a license for it and didn't want to take a trip to his DAV and get the proper license. Instead of spending a couple of hours getting a license which would have helped his career, he chose to file a lawsuit. That is the problem I have with this guy. He apparently refused to take responsibility for his career and instead, filed a lawsuit. If it were me, I would have just gone and gotten the proper license and forgotten about a lawsuit.
It isn't a matter of every man for himself. It is a matter of taking responsibly for ones self. I agree that the company should have repaired the coolant leak. But, we have only heard one side of the story. It would be best to withhold an opinion until you can hear both sides.
You seem to think that just because a driver is unhappy that he is entitled to file a lawsuit. I don't understand why you always want to take the side of the driver, without knowing all the facts. As far as pay is concerned, I have always believed in paying people what they are worth. That means that some may not be worth minimum wage. Others could be worth $100M/year or more. I think that if you have a driver or any employee who is a good producer that you should find a way to compensate him in a way that offers the employee an incentive to produce and excel in a way that also makes sense to the company. Effort, dedication and hard work should be rewarded.