My trucking company withheld money from my last paycheck due to "accident" fee.

Sad but true, I can't talk, I've been guilty of it myself.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

 

If you are an employee of the company (not a subcontractor / owner operator) you are correct in your assumptions below. It is illegal, and that's what insurance is for. They can withhold a safety bonus as you have to qualify for it before you earn it. Once earned - wages earned is wages owed. Not paying wages owed can be very costly for a company.

An employer does not have the authority to fine an employee, or to confiscate his wages for any reason. It takes a court of law to do this. If the employer wishes to sue the employee they can, but a court will decide whether you pay. A court is not going to order you to pay unless someone can show them you willfully committed an act that financially damaged the company.

Yes, this has happened to me. In 1995 Landstar withheld $200 of my pay because a few bottles of wine broke in transit from Stockton CA to the east coast. I objected, but everyone told me that's just the way it is in the trucking business. Luckily, I have a relative who specializes in employment law, and I learned that's NOT the way it is according to law. I demanded that my money be returned to me. Landstar laughed at me.

I filed a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner. Landstar was based out of St. Clair MO. They thought California had no jurisdiction over them. They thought wrong. Given the fact that I was hired in California, and that Landstar had an office in California they had jurisdiction. California fined the piss out of Landstar for every day it took Landstar to get my money to me. Landstar made me pull the money off my comdata card right away so they could prove exactly when I received my money to prevent further fines.

I, too, was worried about retaliation as I still worked for the company. The labor commissioner gave Landstar a friendly warning against retaliating against me. They never did retaliate.

How the labor board in each state deals with this sort of thing can very dramatically. I went to the Missouri labor board first thinking they were the right one to go to. They didn't want to help me at all. Then I learned that California could help me, and they were eager as hell to do it. Didn't cost me a penny.

Another alternative would be small claims court. If you are not working for them just sue them, and ask the court to make the company reimburse you for the $50 or so it costs to file the claim. If you are in the jurisdiction of a state that isn't eager to help you this will get you your money back.

 

Guilty here too...

 

Was u at fault in the accident

 

Doesn't matter. It's irrelevant. Simple as that. Who was at fault DOES NOT MATTER!

 

Don't make big deal about it if you ant to return to trucking.

 

Yep if memory serves me correctly in ca. Its a 100 a day interest not to exceed 30 days to the employee plus what they could fine the company

 

I love labor boards I've used them a few times. 100% success rate. Companies get in line real quick when you make that call

 

Oh yes it does if you want to even deliver pizza's

 

The good companies frown upon the illegal activities of the crooked ones. I wouldn't lose any sleep over finding another job just because I went after money owed me by a thief.
Why not just give them your house and car too. Just to be safe you're still hireable. Good grief.