[timgrogers]

Questliner has not been very responsive keeping this a private mattter, so now I am working on making this a public matter. If you are a current or ex-employee and have suffered any mistreatment by Questliner or Foodliner, please email me telling me what happened to you and who did it to [email protected]. Please pass on to other social media as well as traditional media. Also contact your local attorneys and agencies that can help you with your complaints such as EEOC, OSHA, DOT, FMCSA, etc..... Summary:

The best I can summarize is that I began employment with this employer which is a motor carrier in 8/2012. From the beginning I asked for additional Personal Protection equipment (OSHA compliant silica masks, partical masks, hearing protection, fall protection) and asked them constantly to fix their trucks and trailers.

In November 2012 I was given an unsubstantiated written reprimand by an ops mgr and I told that ops mgr if he did not take back the reprimand, I was going to EEOC to file a complaint. Before the reprimand, I had a pay issue discussion with this same ops mgr along with a discussion about safety and the ops mgr said "he was sticking to his guns".

In December 2012, I spoke to the terminal mgr and he said he would remove the reprimand from my file. Later in 9/2013, I found out that reprimand was never removed as I was told.

In March of 2013, I looked online at FMCSA.gov and filled out a complaint form online against a motor carrier, my employer. A man called me within a week or two from Virginia to ask me more about what happened and said it would take up to 90 days to investigate. I never heard back from him again.

A co-worker (AA male) was injured sometime in April 2013, by getting hit in the face with a high pressure, 3-4 inch diameter hose, 15-20 feet long, plus the weight of metal connections. He was hit in the chest and face, knocked him to the ground and was always being delayed/denied in receiving requested medical/dental treatment and eventually fired by 8/8/2013 without receiving the requested medical/dental treatment. The co-worker has a an active workman's comp claim that the employer's, insurance company's adjuster has been stonewalling for the past 8-12 months. 4-5 other co-workers (all AA males) were injured in the same or similar manner around the same time frame. In the last 3-4 months, another co-worker (AA male) was injured in a fall accident that could have been prevented if the employer had provided fall protection as I requested.

In April 2013, I went to the Garland,TX DOT office to ask how to make a complaint against a motor carrier and a lady there said to document and take pictures and send to Austin,TX. So I documented and took pictures for 4-6 weeks and on May 23rd 2013, sent an envelope with copies of documentation, photos, and my complaint form. I followed up with them a month later and I was told they did receive the complaint and it could take up to a year to investigate. I have not heard back from them.

My requests for PPE and to fix equipment problems continued through 5/30/2013 when a VP and COO were on the work site and I figured they would be the best to speak with since they were executive mgmt and could get things done. They responded negatively and the week after, I called TX OSHA office and they said to call IA OSHA office because company located in IA.

I contacted IA OSHA office the first week of June 2013 and the lady there contacted my employer and shortly thereafter, employer reduced my weekly pay, although they will deny it was because I complained to OSHA. The co-worker that was hurt overheard the work site supervisor on the phone a few days after the VP and COO visited and the co-worker said he heard the supervisor say something like "good, i am glad his pay got cut, maybe now i can get some work out of him", (talking about me). Within a week or two of this conversation, I was told by my dispatcher that my weekly pay was being reduced. The IA OSHA lady recommended that I contact the TX OSHA office and request an inspection at the work site. I did and the inspector showed up 7/9/2013. I followed up by phone with the inspector and he said at the time he could not tell me much. I have not heard from him since.

The lady in IA OSHA office also transferred me to an investigator in the IA OSHA office to make a retaliation/discrimination claim against employer for retaliation and whistle blower protected activity. That investigator interviewed myself and the co-worker that got hurt and tried by phone to interview other co-workers (not sure who would talk or not), and after his fact finding, forwarded to the Department of Labor, OSHA, Kansas City, MO. Currently, the investigator at the federal level is trying to negotiate with the company, but we have not reached an agreement that is fair and equitable to all parties involved. I believe a formal investigation has begun as of May 2014.

In 8/2013, I was verbally and physically intimidated/threatened bodily harm by a co-worker (AA male), yelling and cussing at me in my face and getting in my space/face and accused me of being racist (I am caucasian) because I contacted OSHA. I complained to the employer and it was swept under the rug with no action against the co-worker. My ex-coworker that was injured was also pushed by a corporate trainer in May of 2013.

In December 2013, I went to the Federal Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division in Arlington, TX and made a complaint that the employer had not paid overtime. I supported my claim by showing the interviewer the section of Federal Code I was relying on. I have not heard from any investigator since. Earlier in the year, the co-worker that got hurt made a complaint after he was fired to the Wage and Hour department and he was just ignored and dismissed without a legitimate explanation by an investigator.

In December 2013, I went to EEOC in downtown Dallas,TX off Houston St. and spoke to an investigator (AA male) about a discrimination claim because of my race and for what happened with the co-worker in 8/2013, and that the the employer just ignored my complaint and took no action against the co-worker. The investigator said that I needed more to prove discrimination.

In January 2014, a co-worker (AA male) called me up cussing me out and threatening me with bodily harm for using his truck when the work site supervisor said I could use the truck. I have a voice mail of that co-worker cussing me out and threatening bodily harm. I complained to my employer and submitted the voice mail so they could hear and it was just swept under the rug again with no action against the co-worker. I also told my supervisor and management via phone and email that I am not tolerating any racial discrimination against me.

In January 2014, around 1/17/14, I was on a trip to Roff,OK to get sand and my dispatcher told me to load the trailer I had, drop it, get another driver's trailer that was going to be right behind me and load it, but I refused because the only surface is a dirt surface and I did not consider it safe to drop the 50,000lb plus trailer loaded on a dirt surface and then the ops mgr told me to do the same and I refused. The ops mgr then gave me a written reprimand for "insubordination".

Prior to being fired on 2/3/14, I saw the same COO that I spoke to on May 30,2014 on the work site again the week of 1/27/14 - 1/31/14, the COO approached a truck that I was sitting in the driver seat with the supervisor in the passenger seat trying to get me to sign the reprimand. The COO began to climb up on the driver side steps and then when he saw it was me, he climbed back down and walked away. Not sure what conversation the supervisor and COO had after I left.

1/27/2014, a truck that had 5th wheel problems that I have reported to employer for 3-4 weeks and they did nothing about, I had a problem hooking to a sand trailer and the king pin jumped the 5th wheel. I had to raise the trailer, pull truck out, lower trailer and hook again after pulling on the 5th wheel release handle to make sure BOTH jaws were disengaged to allow king pin follow path into jaws. I used that trailer to go get a load of sand in OK and returned in the afternoon. I noticed a small trickle of sand from front hopper and I immediately went to go get the onsite supervisor to show him. That supervisor took several photos with his company issued cell phone and texted/emailed them to someone. I presume my dispatcher. The supervisor did not give me any accident report to fill out. The next morning 1/28/14, the supervisor took the trailer to a weld shop to put a small patch on the front of the hopper. I used the trailer that day to go get a sand load and when I returned at 1am on WED 1/29/14, there was an envelope on the windshield of my car with an accident report form in it. I filled it out WED am after I got some sleep and emailed it in. WED 1/29/14 I came into work and there was no sand trailer to use, so after waiting 3-4 hours at the work site, I used a calcium carbonate trailer and went to go get a load of calcium. On 1/30/14, there was not a truck or trailer made available for me to use that I considered safe to use and free from defects and went home after waiting 3-4 hours at the work site for a safe truck and trailer to use to do my job. I was given load information for a sand load I was supposed to go get on 1/31/14 and the morning of 1/31/14, the ops mgr called me off that load without pay for that day, saying "pending the accident investigation", and I was told to call the ops mgr on Monday 2/3/14. I called the ops mgr on 2/3/14 and he said I would not be working that day, again without pay, pending the investigation. On the morning of 2/4/13, the ops manager said I was being reprimanded and discharged for not immediately reporting the accident to my immediate supervisor and for dishonesty. I said I did immediately report and I asked what he meant by dishonesty and the ops mgr said I told the supervisor that I did not not do it (make the small hole on the front hopper). I said that was not true, the supervisor took cell pictures and sent them to someone and the small hole was patched the next morning. The supervisor had to get permission from someone (my dispatcher?) to get it fixed. I also said that I told the supervisor, "I was not sure if I did it or not because I did not notice it this morning and if I had noticed it in the morning , I would not have left with the trailer", I also said,"initially I thought the hole was caused by road debris because the truck did not have any mud flaps". The supervisor lied about my reporting of the accident/incident and lied about what I had said.

I immediately filed for unemployment benefits and the employer was denying the payment of those benefits saying I was fired for a reason? but when interviewing with the Texas Workforce Commission, telling them my side of the issue, TWC ruled in my favor and back benefits were paid and I am currently receiving benefits. I received an envelope in the mail on 3/22/14 stating that the employer has filed an appeal with TWC regarding their decision to pay my unemployment benefits. After a second hearing in May 2014 with a hearing officer in Austin, TX, TWC again ruled in my favor to pay benefits and affirmed the previous decision that I was discharged for reasons other than misconduct connected with the work. Initially, the company offered: not to contest my unemployment benefits, $6000 and to sign agreement to end all claims and to not sue for anything else. I am confident that my complaint supports my ex-coworkers injury claim and vice versa. I think considering what my ex-coworker and I have been through, the employer can do better than that. The former employer's recent offer was $10,000 with a global release, only to me. No offer to my injured co-worker. I turned it down.

I have witnesses, documents, photos, recordings, etc.....to support my claims, and so does my co-worker that got hurt. More material evidence and testimony can be obtained via interviews, subpoenas, interrogatories, and requests for documents, e.g. cell phone records, truck computer communication records, document imaging databases, emails and other communications between supervisors and dispatchers and management. Additional evidence can be obtained by contacting all persons mentioned in the state and federal agencies I mentioned, as well as current and ex-employees of the employer involved with this particular work site. For current employees that may be reluctant to talk in fear of losing their job, they need to be reassured that once they speak, they are now part of a protected activity and it may possibly lead to a class action if there are positive results. The ex-employer has a history of handing over heavily edited and redacted documents as had been seen in the co-workers workman's comp case.

In Summary:

1)My ex co-worker that was injured is still trying to recover workman's comp pay and medical/dental treatment;

2) My co-worker is part of my complaint to OSHA and the evidence also supports his workman's comp claim;

3) We have both made complaints to the wage and hour department for unpaid overtime with no response;

4) We have both gone to EEOC to make complaints but have been told we need more. I am going back this week to EEOC to see about making a complaint now that I have the 1/14 issue to add from the co-worker threatening me. I believe that the employer and supervisor discriminated against me because of my race and put these other co-workers up to trying to intimidate me into quitting in retaliation for reporting the employer to OSHA and for other protected activities. There is also a history of me being asked to do certain work tasks that no one else was asked to do, such as what I was reprimanded for, and a history of other co-workers damaging trucks and trailers, equipment, refusing to do loads as dispatched, violating numerous company policies and not being reprimanded or terminated.

5) Now we need to consider wrongful termination for both of us, possible negligence and anything else that can be thrown at them.