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FEATURED NEWS
2024-11-20T06:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsFleet SafetyRisk Management TransportationRisk Management - Motor CarrierFocus AreaIn-Depth ArticleEnglishTransportationUSA
Five legal terms that can sink you in a lawsuit
Trucking companies risk being accused of negligence following a serious crash involving their commercial motor vehicle (CMV) and driver.
It’s important to understand what you might be accused of and how your business practices can help counter these claims in a court of law.
Laying the legal foundation
Negligence can be boiled down to “breach of duty.” In other words, the employer didn’t practice due diligence when they had a duty to act, making them negligent.
Some of the more common legal terms associated with negligence include:
- Negligent entrustment: This occurs when one party negligently provides another party with a dangerous instrument, such a car, CMV, or weapon, and the “entrusted” party causes injury to a third party. In the case of negligent entrustment, the lender has actual knowledge or should have known the party was not qualified to use the “instrument,” and the incident was a result of the entrusted party’s negligence.
- Respondent superior: This is the entrusted party who is using the company’s equipment (or USDOT number). The party doesn’t have to be an employee. It may be a contractor such as an owner-operator or an employee from a staffing service. Basically, a motor carrier is responsible for the behavior of an employee during employment (or contract) with them.
- Negligent hiring: This occurs when an employer doesn’t thoroughly screen an applicant or ignores red flags, and this employee causes harm to someone as the result of a poor background investigation or lack of due care in finding out a party’s credentials and abilities.
- Proximate cause: An attorney will use the “but-for” or proximate cause litmus test to determine if there was a direct link between the driver’s incompetence/negligence and the actual accident, and whether it was foreseeable.
- Negligent supervision: The employer failed to provide a level of supervision that a reasonable, careful person would do under the same circumstances, resulting in dangerous, harmful, or offensive employee conduct.
Policies and procedures under scrutiny
As lawyers apply these legal principles, they will likely review a motor carrier’s policies and procedures and ask:
- Do the standards meet all applicable safety regulations at time of hire and throughout the driver’s career at the company?
- Are the policies enforced consistently? If it’s found that motor carrier officials ignored or made exceptions to the policies, it will not look favorable to jurors.
A complainant’s attorney will ask to see the driver’s records, such as driver qualification file, DOT testing information, hours-of-service compliance, roadside inspection history, training, and so forth.
If the plaintiff can easily find a blemish in the driver’s past or a lack of training or licensing, the motor carrier should have been aware of it through its internal processes. And this claim will undoubtedly be made in a court of law.
But lawyers will find it hard to discredit a carrier if their policies and procedures are rock solid. The policies and procedures should document a standard way of doing something, expectations, what they will and will not allow, and consequences. The carrier must show they’re not deviating from the policy and enforce corrective actions.
Key to remember: To help avoid claims that your carrier and driver negligently caused a serious crash, make sure your recordkeeping, including policies and procedures, are irrefutable and show no one breached their duty.
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RECENT INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS
2024-11-20T06:00:00Z
NewsWage and Hour Division (WHD), DOLIndustry NewsIndustry NewsHR GeneralistFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)USAHR ManagementEnglishFocus AreaHuman Resources
Season of sharing: When spouses must share FMLA leave
Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave. In some situations, however, married employees who work for the same employer may be required to “share” their FMLA leave.
Spouses who work for the same employer share a total of 12 workweeks of FMLA leave per leave year only for:
- The birth of a child,
- Placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, or
- Care for a parent with a serious health condition.
Spouses who work for the same employer also share a total of 26 workweeks of FMLA to care for a military family member with a serious injury or illness.
Spouses who work for the same employer don’t share the 12 workweeks of FMLA for:
- Their own serious health condition,
- To care for a spouse or child with a serious health condition, or
- Due to a qualifying exigency.
For these reasons, each employee gets their own batch of 12 workweeks of FMLA leave in a leave year.
The employees must be married, as defined by state law. This provision does not apply, for example, to domestic partnerships or employees who are engaged.
To illustrate
Charlene and Wilbur are married, and they both work for the same employer, but at different departments with different, but nearby locations. They are both eligible for FMLA leave and each has 12 workweeks of FMLA leave available when Charlene gives birth to a healthy, newborn baby.
Charlene uses 6 weeks of FMLA leave for her own serious health condition following the birth and an additional 6 weeks of FMLA leave for bonding. Wilbur also takes 7 weeks of FMLA leave to bond with their new baby and has another 5 weeks of FMLA leave available for other FMLA-qualifying leave reasons.
Together, Charlene and Wilbur use a combined total of 12 workweeks of FMLA leave for the birth of their child, including bonding time. Charlene also uses 6 weeks of FMLA leave for her serious health condition of giving birth, and Wilbur has an additional 6 weeks of leave remaining for other FMLA leave reasons in the leave year.
Don’t forget that state laws might have more expansive protections.
Key to remember: Married employees share the 12 weeks of FMLA leave taken for certain reasons, but not all reasons.
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2024-11-20T06:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsIndustry NewsEnglishAssociate Benefits & CompensationHR GeneralistLeaveTime offAssociate RelationsLeaveHR ManagementFocus AreaHuman ResourcesUSA
Voters in Alaska, Missouri, and Nebraska approve paid leave
What do these three states — Alaska, Missouri, and Nebraska — have in common? They all had paid leave on their November ballots, and all passed. They will join the ranks of other states that require employers to provide paid leave. Below is a breakdown of each state’s new requirements, helping employers get up to speed quickly.
Alaska paid sick leave
Effective July 1, 2025, employers with 15 or more employees must allow employees to accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
- Employers with fewer than 15 employees may limit the leave to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year.
- Employers with 15 or more employees may limit the leave to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year.
Employees would be entitled to use paid sick leave as it is accrued. They may take the leave for their own condition; to care for a family member; or due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Missouri paid sick time
Effective May 1, 2025, employees will earn an hour of paid sick time (PST) for every 30 hours worked.
- Employers with fewer than 15 employees may limit an employee’s use of PST to 40 hours per year.
- Employers with 15 or more employees may limit an employee’s use of PST to 56 hours per year.
Employees may use the leave as soon as it’s accrued. They may take the leave for their own condition or preventive care; care for a family member; business or school/daycare closure due to a public health emergency; or due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act
Effective October 1, 2025, employees will earn an hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
- Employers with fewer than 20 employees must allow employees to accrue and use up to 40 hours of paid sick time each year.
- Employers with 20 or more employees must allow employees to accrue and use up to 56 hours of paid sick time each year.
Employees may use the leave as soon as it’s accrued. They may take the leave for their own condition or preventive care, care for a family member, and business or school/daycare closure due to a public health emergency.
Key to remember: Employers with employees in Alaska, Missouri, or Nebraska will need to be aware of new employee leave provisions beginning in 2025.
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NewsIndustry NewsSafety & HealthGeneral Industry SafetyHR GeneralistIn-Depth ArticleLabor Law PostersHR ManagementEnglishLabor Law PostersUSAFocus AreaHuman Resources
A poster may be needed when your state has a captive-audience meeting law
Captive-audience meetings, where an employer holds a mandatory meeting to express its views on unionization, have been receiving a great deal of attention.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled on November 13 that these meetings are unlawful, as they violate employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The board determined that they interfere with an employee’s right to freely decide how to participate in a conversation about unionization.
A number of states have also passed laws banning captive-audience meetings. Employers in these states must make sure any meetings about unionization comply with both NLRB guidelines and state laws.
Some state captive-audience-meeting laws also require employers to do one more thing: Make workers aware of their rights by posting information about the law in the workplace. In some cases, states provide a standardized poster. When a standardized poster is not available, employers can post the text of the law to comply with the posting requirement.
Which states require captive-audience meeting postings?
The posting requirements for captive meeting laws vary by state:
Illinois: Post information about the Worker Freedom of Speech law as of January 1, 2025.
Maine: Display information about the state’s Captive Audience statute after a standardized posting is made available by the state.
Minnesota: Display the Employer-Sponsored Meetings posting from the state.
New York: Post the text of the state’s Discrimination Against Engagement in Certain Activities law.
Oregon: Display the Captive Audiences poster from the state.
Washington: Display the text of the state’s Free Choice Act or a posting from the state when one is made available.
Alaska, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Vermont have captive-audience meeting laws, but do not require employers to display related information .
Key to remember: Employers in some states need to display a captive-audience meeting posting to make employees aware of their rights.
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2024-11-19T06:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsIndustry NewsSafety & HealthInjury and Illness RecordkeepingBureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), DOLGeneral Industry SafetyUSAEnglishFocus AreaInjury and Illness Recordkeeping
Injuries, illnesses down 8.4 percent in 2023
In 2023, private industry employers reported 2.6 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses, a decrease of 8.4 percent from 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). There was a drop in illness cases to 200,100 (down 56.6 percent from 2022), which is the lowest reported number since 2019. Also driving the decrease was a significant drop in respiratory illnesses, down 72.6 percent to 100,200 cases.
Nonfatal injuries and illness involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer were 20.1 percent lower in 2023 (946,500). Additional data of note includes:
- The health care and social assistance sector reported 562,500 total recordable injuries and illnesses, down from 665,300 in 2022.
- Manufacturing reported 355,800 cases, down from 396,800 in 2022.
- Transportation and warehousing reported 265,700 cases, down from 276,300 in 2022.
Total recordable injuries and illnesses decreased in all private industry sectors in 2023.
The full report can be found on the BLS website.
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2024-11-19T06:00:00Z
NewsNational Labor Relations Act (NLRA)National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)Unions/Labor RelationsUnions/Labor RelationsTraining & DevelopmentHR ManagementEnglishHuman ResourcesTalent Management & RecruitingIndustry NewsIndustry NewsHR GeneralistAssociate RelationsFocus AreaUSA
Captive-audience meetings violate worker rights, NLRB rules
Making workers attend meetings where an employer expresses its views on unionization violates the law, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled.
In a decision released November 13, the board determined that these “captive-audience” meetings violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) because the meetings have a reasonable tendency to interfere with an employee’s rights under the act, including the right to freely discuss unionization.
The board noted that because captive-audience meetings are compulsory, and an employee may be fired or disciplined for refusing to attend, the employer’s message presented during the meeting is likely to seem coercive.
The mandatory nature of captive-audience meetings also demonstrates an employer’s economic power over employees, which may inhibit them from acting freely and exercising their NLRA rights, the board found.
An employer may still hold meetings with workers to share its views on unionization, the board ruled, if the employer:
- Gives employees reasonable advance notice of the subject of the meeting,
- Lets employees know that attendance is voluntary with no adverse consequences for not going, and
- Informs employees that no attendance records of the meeting will be kept.
Why are captive-audience meetings a problem under the NLRA?
The board’s previous ruling on captive-audience meetings, Babcock & Wilcox Co., was issued in 1948. In its recent decision in Amazon.com Services LLC, the board determined that captive-audience meetings on unionization are problematic under the NLRA because they:
- Interfere with an employee’s right under Section 7 of the NLRA to freely decide whether, when, and how to participate in a conversation concerning union representation, or refrain from doing so.
- Provide a way for an employer to observe and surveil employees as it addresses the exercise of their rights under Section 7.
- Lend a coercive character to the message regarding unionization employees are forced to receive, because the employer can compel attendance at such meetings and employees may be disciplined or discharged for not attending.
State laws may also impact captive-audience meetings
Eleven states have laws that also place restrictions on captive-audience meetings. They take effect in California and Alaska on January 1 and are currently in effect in Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.
Key to remember: Employers need to be careful when holding meetings to share their views on unionization. They need to adhere to NLRB guidelines and follow state laws.
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Copyright 2024 J. J. Keller & Associate, Inc. For re-use options please contact copyright@jjkeller.com or call 800-558-5011.