Please help?

[barbara]

We have been dirving now for 5yrs. Got our second truck this year.
Got a dr. on with our co.we dr. for who neglected to tell us he had
refused a drug test back in Oct.. to make a long story short he was
fired for our co.. Well since then this dr. has been trying to draw
un-employment and has listed us as his employer. What a night-mare!
Made it very clear to dr. he would recive 1099 ect.. but we are under
investigation by the dept. of Labor as to why we haven't paid un-employment taxes ect.. Even had a home visit for about 4hr. this wk.
with Auditor and still not sure what is going to happen. Contacted
our co. about this and was told no-one pay's these taxes in this business. Wish we had never seen this second tk. ready to give-up!
Can anyone help me?? What can we do?? :-( :-(

 

[Lawrence]

Barbara,

I'm very sorry to hear about your situation. Did you have any kind of written contract with this driver? Has the carrier you leased with offered any assistance?

This ought to be a warning to all small fleet operators - You must have a written contract detailing your business relationship with the sub-contractor.

We wish you well and hope someone on the Forum can offer some suggestions.

Lawrence
Expediters Online.com

 

[RichM]

Since the driver refused to take a drug test,it is treated as if he did and failed the test.This could be considered a criminal offense and would be grounds for firing that individual. When a person is fired for criminal activity they usually cannot collect unemployment benefits.Years ago I had a guy working for me who was involved in a hit and run accident,he put the other vehicles driver into the hospital,tried to get away but the fuel tank was knocked off the truck so he didn!t get very far.He then tried to lie his way out of the mess he created,I fired him,He tried to collect and was denied benefits due to his actions.This was in New Jersey. Perhaps a good Labor Lawyer can advise you,but as Lawerence said,some type of written agreement is an absolute must.If he operated independtly of your control,he should be judged as a contractor and not an employee.Good example is,Did he accept or reject runs without your knowledge or approval. Good luck let us know how you make out..

 

[davekc]

Already good answers listed. Always have a contract with driver listing pay, abandoning truck, who pays fuel,tolls ect. If unsure how to do this a trucking lawyer or business lawyer will do it for $100.00 to $150.00.
In addition, if you are currently being investigated, I would highly recommend a attorney to stop the snowball effect. If labor dept. is researching you, irs can't be far behind as they both now use the same data bases. Attorney will also know how to respond to there questions. Hope this helps.

 

[Fr8 Shaker]

Barbara,the attorney would be your best bet now. i don't know how you were set up with this driver, but i would like to add that if you hadn't already then in the future have your drivers file for their own D.B.A. (doing business as) an assumed business name,which classifies them as their own business. (self employed) and make all checks payable to that business name.
it would also be a good idea to have them sign a workers comp. waiver or something stating that their responsible for their own. otherwise that could open up another can of worms.

hope this has helped a little, if not now then for the future.


Good Luck,
Fr8 shaker

 

[Fkatz]

Barbara,

If you fill out Federal TAX FORM SS-8 WHICH CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM, THE IRS WEB SIDE, UNDER FORMS AND INSTRUCTIONS.
WHAT THIS SS-8 FORM IS A DETERMINATION OF WORKER STATUS FOR PURPOSES OF FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT TAX AND INCOME TAX WITHOLDING.
iF YOU FILL OUT THIS FORM AND MAKE A COPY SINCE HE IS AN INDEPENDANT CONTRACTOR THEY CANNOT HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT FOR THIS WORKER. IF YOU ARE A CORPORATION UNDER A LLC, "S" CORP, OR REGULAR CORP. THEN YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE UNEMPLOYMENT OTHERWISE YOU ARE NOT. ALSO, IF YOU FILE A TAX REURN UNDER INDIVIDUAL WITH A SCH C, YOU DO NOT HAVE EMPLOYEES, YOU MAKE OUT A 1099 MISC, AND IT IS LISTED UNDER COMMISSIONS, AND FEES, NOT WAGES. iF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIIONS YOU CAN CALL ME AT 1-704-739-4039 FRANK'S TAX & BUSINESS SERVICE, kINGS mOUNTAIN, NC

AGAIN
fRANK