English & the CDL

bubblehead · Apr 19, 2013

You have a driver that receives a warning at a scale house because of his inability to speak, understand or otherwise communicate with the authorities in english, (a requirement for a CDL) and it is being spun as "'terminated for having an accent" by the media. The Carrier, who should be concerned about compliance with the regulations and liabilities 'causes' the termination of the driver who is actually hired by a third party vendor. The resultant action is the Carrier being sued for discrimination;

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah truck driver alleges FedEx fired him because of his Russian accent, even though he offered to appear before corporate higher-ups to demonstrate his English-speaking abilities.

Ismail Aliyev has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the Memphis, Tenn.-based shipping company and the long-haul contractor that employed him and was ordered to do the firing.

Aliyev worked for GNB Trucking Co. in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley. The small business owns and operates FedEx-branded trucks and provides uniformed drivers for FedEx. Aliyev says his trouble started months into the job when an Iowa weigh station gave his company a warning – but not a citation – about his Russian accent. One of the requirements of holding a commercial driver's license is the ability to communicate.

"I think for a driver, my English is not too bad," said Aliyev, now an independent trucker, who spoke to The Associated Press by cellphone briefly Wednesday while driving in Nebraska.

Aliyev has an accent "but it's very understandable," said Robert H. Wilde, his lawyer. "GNB said he was an excellent employee and would like to keep him, but it was instructed by FedEx to terminate him."

Wilde said the firing was ordered by a FedEx manager who didn't bother to speak with Aliyev, and that Aliyev offered to fly to FedEx headquarters to show off his language skills but was turned down.

Erin Truxal, a FedEx Ground spokeswoman in Moon Township, Pa., confirmed that Aliyev was employed by the independent contractor GNB Trucking but declined to comment further. A message left at FedEx's corporate headquarters wasn't returned Wednesday.

Aliyev's son said it wasn't the first time the family had experienced discrimination. As Turks in Russia, they were forced to flee in 2005, landing in Utah as political refugees, Elshad Aliyev said.

"It really does hurt," said Elshad Aliyev, who speaks flawless English. "We lost everything in Russia."

FedEx Fires Ismail Aliyev, Truck Driver, Over Russian Accent: Lawsuit

What would you do if you are the Carrier. What would you do if you are the contracting vendor with a driver who may not have the ability to speak fluent english?

As a manager, would the warning that was issued be sufficient to make the decision that that manager made? Should he have spoken with the driver and disregard the warning from the State Officer?

One obvious answer is that if the driver is in possession of a CDL then he must have already satisfied the authorities who issued him his CDL. Or has he?

At what point does a company say enough is enough and closes their doors, or ceases to provide a particular service? It happens in many industries...ask why in the medical field pediatricians are harder to recruit? Or companies close their plants when employees vote to unionize.

http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=cbpubs

[Kate Bronfenbrenner Cornell University, [email protected]]

A law suit over an accent or unions or whatever else, tends to consume the
entrepreneurial spirit. As a driver, do you calculate your exposure as part of doing business and adjust your margins accordingly?

So what would you do and how would you do it?

OntarioVanMan · Apr 19, 2013

how did Fedex find out about the warning?....

sounds like a country bumpkin at the scale house....

"Should he have spoken with the driver and disregard the warning from the State Officer?"

since it was not a citation....and the odds of the 2 ever making contact again are slim to nil...

zorry · Apr 19, 2013

If the driver was inspected, the warning may have been noted on the inspection form.

Under CVSA isn't a warning worse than a citation ? Guilty w/o due process.

Possibly had a hard time understanding directions like park here,release brakes .
Purely speculation on my part.

OntarioVanMan · Apr 19, 2013

zorry said:
If the driver was inspected, the warning may have been noted on the inspection form.

Under CVSA isn't a warning worse than a citation ? Guilty w/o due process.

Possibly had a hard time understanding directions like park here,release brakes .
Purely speculation on my part.

the story has he is proficient enough in English....I am leaning more to a Bubba type scale officer...anti immigration type...same speculation here...

bubblehead · Apr 19, 2013

OntarioVanMan said:
how did Fedex find out about the warning?....

sounds like a country bumpkin at the scale house....

"Should he have spoken with the driver and disregard the warning from the State Officer?"

since it was not a citation....and the odds of the 2 ever making contact again are slim to nil...

Could be a country bumbkin...but one with the authority to negatively affect the CSA score. To my understanding, a citation can be challenged but a warning cannot. Since it was a Ground route, I would think the odds of being confronted by that officer is good. I am on a first name basis with several of the officers in the Florida weigh stations even though I am not on a regular route.

I have been stopped by a State Officer (in Laredo Tx. USA) and couldn't understand his english/spanglish. I wonder if he could have given me a warning or citation for not understanding him....

I can understand a Carrier having a contractional stipulation that would require limits of tolerances of drivers before a disqualification (which could result in termination) would be execrsised.

But the purpose of the post is to explore options or suggestions in our daily activities. What has happened in this case could happen to any carrier or fleet owner of any size. Do the rewards justify the risk? If so than the decision is easy, however as margins of profit are diminishing...?

zorry · Apr 19, 2013

I have have witnessed driver's that were driving a truck that require a CDL that spoke very little english.

Can an interpreter be used to take a CDL test ?

OntarioVanMan · Apr 19, 2013

zorry said:
I have have witnessed driver's that were driving a truck that require a CDL that spoke very little english.

Can an interpreter be used to take a CDL test ?

They do not have to speak perfect english....enough english just to do the job...

zorry · Apr 19, 2013

A friend asked a T/T trash hauler a question.

The foreigner got that deer in the headlight look. Ran quickly to the parking lot. We guessed he went to be sure he set his parking brake.

bubblehead · Apr 19, 2013

zorry said:
I have have witnessed driver's that were driving a truck that require a CDL that spoke very little english.

Can an interpreter be used to take a CDL test ?

In Miami Florida where my wife took her test, she was giving the Florida CDL publication in spanish. When she relaized what DMV had done, she handed them back the booklet and requested one in Thai. None was available, so she was forced to take the exam in english...imagine that!

I am not sure what the law is anymore. I do recall my Florida CDL booklet stating something about reasonable ability to communicate (in speech and writing) in english.

Mailer · Apr 19, 2013

It may be due to hearing loss. High frequency hearing lost can cause difficulty in understanding of spoken words, especially those with English as a secondary language.

skyraider · Apr 19, 2013

bubblehead said:
You have a driver that receives a warning at a scale house because of his inability to speak, understand or otherwise communicate with the authorities in english, (a requirement for a CDL) and it is being spun as "'terminated for having an accent" by the media. The Carrier, who should be concerned about compliance with the regulations and liabilities 'causes' the termination of the driver who is actually hired by a third party vendor. The resultant action is the Carrier being sued for discrimination;

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah truck driver alleges FedEx fired him because of his Russian accent, even though he offered to appear before corporate higher-ups to demonstrate his English-speaking abilities.

Ismail Aliyev has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the Memphis, Tenn.-based shipping company and the long-haul contractor that employed him and was ordered to do the firing.

Aliyev worked for GNB Trucking Co. in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley. The small business owns and operates FedEx-branded trucks and provides uniformed drivers for FedEx. Aliyev says his trouble started months into the job when an Iowa weigh station gave his company a warning – but not a citation – about his Russian accent. One of the requirements of holding a commercial driver's license is the ability to communicate.

"I think for a driver, my English is not too bad," said Aliyev, now an independent trucker, who spoke to The Associated Press by cellphone briefly Wednesday while driving in Nebraska.

Aliyev has an accent "but it's very understandable," said Robert H. Wilde, his lawyer. "GNB said he was an excellent employee and would like to keep him, but it was instructed by FedEx to terminate him."

Wilde said the firing was ordered by a FedEx manager who didn't bother to speak with Aliyev, and that Aliyev offered to fly to FedEx headquarters to show off his language skills but was turned down.

Erin Truxal, a FedEx Ground spokeswoman in Moon Township, Pa., confirmed that Aliyev was employed by the independent contractor GNB Trucking but declined to comment further. A message left at FedEx's corporate headquarters wasn't returned Wednesday.

Aliyev's son said it wasn't the first time the family had experienced discrimination. As Turks in Russia, they were forced to flee in 2005, landing in Utah as political refugees, Elshad Aliyev said.

"It really does hurt," said Elshad Aliyev, who speaks flawless English. "We lost everything in Russia."

FedEx Fires Ismail Aliyev, Truck Driver, Over Russian Accent: Lawsuit

What would you do if you are the Carrier. What would you do if you are the contracting vendor with a driver who may not have the ability to speak fluent english?

As a manager, would the warning that was issued be sufficient to make the decision that that manager made? Should he have spoken with the driver and disregard the warning from the State Officer?

One obvious answer is that if the driver is in possession of a CDL then he must have already satisfied the authorities who issued him his CDL. Or has he?

At what point does a company say enough is enough and closes their doors, or ceases to provide a particular service? It happens in many industries...ask why in the medical field pediatricians are harder to recruit? Or companies close their plants when employees vote to unionize.

http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=cbpubs

[Kate Bronfenbrenner Cornell University, [email protected]]

A law suit over an accent or unions or whatever else, tends to consume the
entrepreneurial spirit. As a driver, do you calculate your exposure as part of doing business and adjust your margins accordingly?

So what would you do and how would you do it?

With a 99 percent turnover in the trucking, why even get a cdl, get a one year drivers permit because with a 99 percent turnover, they are gone period....whether they speak well or not is a mute point.......go over to S C and listen to them speak for example.

ATeam · Apr 19, 2013

The first thing I would do would be to get clear on the facts of the case, which is impossible to do based only on the OP and the quoted news story.

One fact that can be known is that the actual requirement is:

399.11(B)(2) "Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records;"

Assuming the story is accurate on the point that the warning ticket was issued, the question remains, was it justified? You do not have to go far in the tricking industry, and in the DataQ challenge system to find tickets that were improperly issued.

Based on the quote of the driver in the story, I can factually state that he speaks English better than some drivers I have met out here who speak little English if any. While I am not convinced that the warning ticket was justified in the above-cited case, I wish there were more officers who would cite drivers whose English skills do not meet the FMCSA requirement.

To say more about what was properly or improperly done, and to answer the question, "what would you do?" more needs to be known about the "third party vendor" and its relationship to FedEx. From the story (again presuming its accuracy on this point), it seems that FedEx has the power to cause that vendor to terminate an employee.

What I would do, would depend on who I was in this story. For example, if I was the FedEx official, my instincts would be to hear out the man who claimed that his English skills were adequate. But if I had just come from a staff meeting where the law was laid down about reducing the company's CSA/SMS points, my actions might be dictated from higher up.

Again, without good facts, it is difficult to say what I would have done. There are a lot of blanks in the story. Filling them in would be nothing more than specualtion.

Finally, a careful reading of the story does not indicate that the story "is being spun as "'terminated for having an accent' by the media." The meida is reporting the allegation that the driver is making, and the allegation is central to the story itself.

zorry · Apr 19, 2013

Regardless of the facts I betcha his English is highly improved by now.

pearlpro · Apr 24, 2013

I met a driver this week at a delivery over in Nebraska, he was standing at the door to the recieving office and he had a clipboard with the phrase, WHICH DOOR in several languages, when a driver came up he turned the clipboard over and said in a rich arabic accent, whish doorr, whish doorr....after going inside I asked the recieving manager if he had talked to this guy and he said no, we went outside and the driver held out his cellphone, On the other end his interpreter from the company, after talking for a moment the manager says IN PLAIN ENGLISH, Dont come back if you dont speak english and the driver said, WHISH DOORR.....

Look how do you read signs, deal with rednecks and drive a truck and you cant speaka da engrish....these guys have CDLS and how in the heck do they get them....

On top of this he was dressed in a Robe, Turban, Sandals......before you say Im racist etc No Im not, I tried to help he couldnt communicate, couldnt even say the name of his carrier, and spoke no ENGRISH, His clipboard was his communicator with 4 lines of Spanish, Arabic, Slavic and Russian....

ATeam · Apr 25, 2013

We delivered once to a pharmaceutical company where the driver's door leads not to the docks but to a reception room and then to the docks. Mounted on the wall is a box of shoe covers. Signs explain to put them on and then go to the door that leads to the docks. Someone will come to that door after you ring the bell.

The system works perfectly if the driver reads the sign. A dock worker said the system does not work well when a driver does not or can not read the sign. The problem is that a shoe cover looks quite a bit like a hair net. It sometimes happens that the dock workers open the door to find an eager and cooperative driver standing there with a shoe cover on his head.