Long Haul Truck Driving May Saddle Drivers with Avoidable Costs

Misclassification has been a trend within the long haul truck driving industry. It’s helpful for truck drivers to know the difference between an employee and an independent contractor.

Truckers who do long haul truck driving often cover more than two-hundred and fifty miles in a given trip. Long haul truck drivers can be classified as employees of the company they deliver for or can be an independent contractor for the company.

Whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor depends on the details of the relationship between the worker and the company, not on how the company characterizes the worker.

Different legal definitions of “employee” and “independent contractor” may apply, depending on the situation. For purposes of determining federal income tax, the IRS says a worker is an independent contractor “if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done. The earnings of a person who is working as an independent contractor are subject to Self-Employment Tax.”

The IRS looks at various factors such as the degree of control the company exercises over the contractor. If the company controls the details of how the worker does their work, then that worker is likely an employee, even if the company says they’re an independent contractor.

In January 2017, truckers labeled as independent contractors won a dispute with Swift Transportation over the issue of misclassification in a federal court in Arizona.

U.S. District Judge John W. Sedwick ruled that the owner-operator agreements signed by the drivers effectively gave Swift full control over the work relationship, making it an employment relationship rather than a contractor relationship.

Since the contracts were for employment, the judge determined that the contracts’ arbitration provisions have no effect. These provisions would have required the truckers to resolve their claims though arbitration rather than through a class action lawsuit. But the Federal Arbitration Act protects employees working in interstate commerce from being compelled to arbitrate.

Swift Transportation has since appealed Judge Sedwick’s decision.

A similar trend in misclassification appears to be affecting port truck drivers too. About two-thirds of the nation’s port drivers are misclassified as an independent contractor, according to a report produced by The National Employment Law Project, The Change to Win Strategic Organizing Centerworks and The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy.

This report also states misclassified employees should be “classified as employees of the companies they work for and enjoy the benefits that come with being an employee.” These benefits are overtime, workers compensation and right to be part of a union.

The report says that misclassification prevents truckers from getting the benefits and protections that come with an employer-employee relationship. These benefits include overtime wages, minimum wage protections, workers compensation, and the right to organize into unions.

Drivers Bear the Costs of Long Haul Truck Driving

On the other hand, long haul truck driving as an independent contractor can leave a trucker on the hook for a host of expenses that employees may not have to worry about, such as:

• Cost of fuel
• Insurance, maintenance, and repairs for their own truck
• Taxes and licensing fees
• Travel expenses

In some cases, the costs of long haul truck driving may swallow up much of what the driver is paid for the work – so much so that their net compensation falls below the applicable minimum hourly wage.

Join a Free Long Haul Trucker Misclassification Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you are a long haul truck driver who has been misclassified as an independent contractor, you may be entitled to compensation.

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