contracts: good and bad

[gospelriders]

we just qualified for panther and will coming in around march. straight truck,h/w team driving for fleet owner(don't have f.o yet) i drive strt. local and wife drives for ups part time, and we have had retail business in the past. so i have some understanding of leases and contracts in that area. i will be taking contract to a lawyer to check, but what are some of the acceptable items to look for and the unacceptable? having been on this site since sept. i would appreciate serious as well as the sometimes funny and sarcastic answers. i will sort them out.

 

[zorry]

I recently drove for a fleet briefly. The contract should spell out all your costs and all the owners costs. Fuel, tolls, etc. What is your compensation and what things will affect it up or down. What non driving duties are expected of you ? Our owner was good. He paid motels if truck was in shop overnite. ( i saw good team sleeping on a picnic table for a week at a KW dealer). He also paid our occ health insurance. You'll more than likely have a financial responsibility in damage to vehicle and freight claims. How many out of route miles are you allowed and when ? We were allowed 100 mile per week. Out three weeks and you could go 300 miles to stop by house. What will it cost you to go 500 miles to get home ? Who pays costs to return truck whenever contract ends. Take plenty of pics and detail condition of entire truck when picking up and returning truck. Crappy owners will make money by charging you for damage you did not do.Call expeditor services to see if they can use you. Straight up people and as good of a place as any for you to get your feet wet. Good luck. Expediting is great if you like it. A far cry from UPS.

 

[greg334]

out of route miles?

That's a good case for being an employee.

To answer the OP question, it is simple, defining who does what and when.

So you are being hired to drive a truck, which is a skill. By that you should be able to determine what route the truck takes, what speed and so on, to ensure that you operate the truck under legal conditions.

It should spell out things like escrow which seems to be a norm - how much is being paid to the owner, how it is handled and how is that money given back. It should also spell out what consitutes a termination and what is a violation.

Then if there is say a flat tire or some other disability to the truck, the contract should spell out what would be done - transportation paid for out of escrow if the truck is not going to be fixed or hotel stay paid for by the owner.

 

[zorry]

Greg, I believe most of the people out here ARE employees. Thats a discussion for another day.

 

[cheri1122]

As Greg said, the contract spells out who is responsible for what, and the consequences of noncompliance.
Basically, I'd say the less you know of the owner, the more detail is required in the contract - out of route mileage is an example I've personally never seen, but it would settle the question of 'how far is too far'? pretty quick.
Owners are like drivers: some are wonderful, some not so much. Hope you get one of the good ones.

 

[greg334]

Greg, I believe most of the people out here ARE employees. Thats a discussion for another day.

I'm inclined to think that most would not qualify as employees for a lot of reasons, one seems to be I have not found any evidence that a driver for an owner in niche business has made a proper case for it.

However I do believe that the cost in abusing the driver is and can always be higher than just being fair with them and treating them as part of the service chain they belong to.

The idea that a driver has a set route for each run goes against their ability to be in charge of the truck as a properly licensed driver of that truck.

 

[LisaLouHoo]

Greg, I believe most of the people out here ARE employees. Thats a discussion for another day.

"Contracted Driver" is the exact description my boyfriend was advised to use in his contract. NEVER "Employee", for that one little word opens up an entirely different can of worms when it comes to taxation, liability, workman's compensation, etc.

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[gospelriders]

thanks for the replies, it gives me a little more of what to be looking for. if the fleet owners are issuing 1099s' all these years and the drivers are submitting them at tax time ,isn't the irs acknowledging that they are subcontractors?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

thanks for the replies, it gives me a little more of what to be looking for. if the fleet owners are issuing 1099s' all these years and the drivers are submitting them at tax time ,isn't the irs acknowledging that they are subcontractors?

we owner operators are a contractor....drivers we find are subcontractors......period...every level has rules to abide by...
example...a postal contractor...very, very tight rules..timing, route and procedures....
Think of the construction trade...one site can have 20 or more sub contractors and not one an employee of the main contract holder

 

[gotta go]

If you are not already a member of OOIDA you may want to consider joining. The membership dues are $25 for a year if you have a members number to put down for referral. $10 for additional family members. One of their services is that they review contracts. They will let you know what is legal in the world of trucking. You are able to email the contract to them and talk to somebody about it generally the next day. When I sent in a 38 page contract I did wait 2 days before calling back.
One that I didn't see Zorry mention was how do you get reimbursed for cash tolls or other incidentals? Do you start out with the truck owners $100 and refill it by sending in receipts? Or do you lay out your own money? Is there Pre-pass, EZpass, etc.? Who pays? Welcome to the forum

 

[gospelriders]

thanks for the suggestion about ooida. i will give them a call.

 

[sluggo]

"Contracted Driver" is the exact description my boyfriend was advised to use in his contract. NEVER "Employee", for that one little word opens up an entirely different can of worms when it comes to taxation, liability, workman's compensation, etc.

Sent from my ADR6300 using EO Forums

There goes my employee of the month parking spot.

 

[LisaLouHoo]

There goes my employee of the month parking spot.

Yep, see, there's another thing that would have to be accommodated under the "employee" umbrella. As a "contracted driver", the award is given whenever and how often the driver chooses and the plum spot is located in whatever truck stop, rest area, or WalMart space they are occupying. So much simpler that way.

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[Ragman]

. . . the plum spot is located. . .

Not going to do it, nope, will not, can't make me!