XPO | Driver reinstated for refusing to drive in bad weather.

Village Idiot

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Found this interesting.
http://www.truckingboards.com/bb/the-watering-hole-general-truck-drivers-forum/judge-orders-prime-to-reinstate-driver-and-pay-her-$150-000-for-illegal-firing/
Couldn't get the link to work. Here is the post.
In a decision issued on March 15, 2010, Department of Labor Judge Daniel Leland ruled that New Prime, Inc. (also known as "Prime") illegally fired Cynthia Ferguson because she refused to continue operating a commercial vehicle in hazardous weather. In Ferguson v. New Prime, Inc., Ferguson, a leased driver for Prime, was fired shortly after she refused to driver through Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with a loaded tractor-trailer set during hazardous weather. Paul Taylor of the Truckers Justice Center filed a claim on behalf of Ferguson with the Department of Labor alleging that Prime illegally fired her. Prime alleged that it fired Ferguson because she operated the truck at a deficit.

Near Reno, NV, on December 25, 2008, Ms. Ferguson observed hazardous driving conditions as she drove. After consulting other drivers, listening to radio weather reports and receiving reports from the State authorities advising against travel, Ferguson advised Prime via Qualcomm that she was not going to drive through Donner Pass until weather and driving conditions improved. When her dispatcher, Jeremy Thomas, read the message he told her "why didn't you cross it [Donner Pass] yesterday? you should have been across the country twice by now." A few days later Thomas recommended that Prime fire Ferguson. Prime then dispatched Ferguson to Springfield, MO where a Prime management official, Jack Ewing, fired her.

Judge Leland found that Prime violated the Surface Transportation Assistance Act which prohibits trucking companies from firing drivers for refusing to drive in violation of commercial vehicle safety regulations. Judge Leland held that Ferguson's refusal to drive was legally protected because violations of DOT regulations would have occurred but for Ferguson's refusal to drive in the hazardous weather. Judge Leland credited Ferguson's testimony noting that she properly relied upon reliable reports of bad weather and unsafe driving conditions through Donner Pass. In finding that Prime fired Ferguson because of her refusal to drive in hazardous weather, Judge Leland relied on an "incident report" prepared by Thomas noting complaining that Ferguson refused to drive through Donner Pass and recommending that she be fired.

Judge Leland ordered Prime to reinstate Ms. Ferguson as a driver, pay back wages of more than $ 26,600, pay $ 50,000 as compensation for Ferguson's emotional distress, and pay $ 75,000 in punitive damages. Judge Leland also ordered Prime to pay Ms. Ferguson's attorney fees, and remove unfavorable information from her DAC Report.

A copy of the decision in Ferguson v. New Prime, Inc. can be found by following this link:

http://www.oalj.dol.gov/Decisions/ALJ/STA/2009/FERGUSON_CYNTHIA_v_NEW_PRIME_INC_2009STA00047_(MAR_15_2010)_081204_CADEC_SD.PDF

Paul O. Taylor
Truckers Justice Center
900 West 128th Street, Suite 104
Burnsville, MN 55337
Tel. No. 651-454-5800
 
They know the rules and the law. They want to bully you because they know you are the one that is responsable for the unit. If anything happens, They deny threating you with your job and you are left holding the bag.
 
it's amazing she won, that incident letter saying she refused to drive and should be fired. would have dissappeared from company file as soon as lawsuit was filed at most companies. try to get a copy of your file and see what happens. they say you can see it with us beside you but no copies.
 
[quote author=slopway link=topic=78492.msg817209#msg817209 date=1269790652]

it's amazing she won, that incident letter saying she refused to drive and should be fired. would have dissappeared from company file as soon as lawsuit was filed at most companies. try to get a copy of your file and see what happens. they say you can see it with us beside you but no copies.
[/quote]
That is against the law. Anything you sign, they must provide you with a copy. Once you have a copy, well enough said.
 
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