Tag: cracks in the system

Business

How to file a coercion or harassment complaint

Filing a coercion complaint can be done via the FMCSA’s National Consumer Complaint Database in the “Driver” section. Also here, a look at the concentration of coercion complaints, by state, over the four years the Coercion Rule has been in place.

December 19, 2019

Business

Righteous whistleblower or ‘disgruntled employee’?

A dispute between 30-year veteran driver Kevin Hosea and the small-fleet employer who fired him earlier this year shows the complexity of coercion-related cases. The fleet owner denies allegations of coercion.

December 17, 2019

Business

Parties other than carriers now subject to enforcement under the coercion rule

One standout aspect of the coercion rule is that it marked the first time the FMCSA gained some authority to investigate and fine shippers and receivers not already under its regulatory purview. The rule also broadened agency authorities over brokers. Results, however, are a decidedly mixed bag four years in.

December 12, 2019

Business

Drivers citing coercion face an uphill battle

While coercion complaint filing might be straightforward, resolving a complaint is anything but. The process can drag for months, and protection for complainants is impossible if the coercive act is what’s investigated. Add the absence of monetary award and possible work disruption, and there’s no shortage of disincentives for blowing the whistle.

December 11, 2019

Business

The irony of e-logging and coercion: Complaints on a steady rise since mandate

Coercion complaints filed by drivers with FMCSA have gone up every year since the rule prohibiting coercion took effect in January 2016, more than doubling by the third year. That’s in spite of, or because of, another rule that same year, the ELD mandate.

December 10, 2019

Business

Cracks in the system: Blowing the whistle on coercion

In the more than four years since FMCSA’s driver protection rule took effect, results have been indirect at best, minimal at worst, when drivers report they’ve been pressured to violate regs.

December 9, 2019