8.7 C
New York

Trucker Wins Big Settlement In Refusal To Haul Case

Published:

A judge ordered Marten Transport to pay a trucker $100,000 for allegedly forcing him to quit after he refused to haul overweight loads and to violate hours of service requirements.

Trucker Awarded $100,000 For Refusal To Haul Firing

The court awarded driver Brandon Hopper $50,000 in lost wages and $50,000 in punitive damages.

Hopper says that he was “confronted and baited” — forced to resign — in July 2013 when he refused two loads because they were overweight and three other loads because taking them would have meant a violation of hours of service.

The judge stated that Hopper’s refusal to drive was protected by labor laws. The judge found Marten employee’s testimony to be vague and inconsistent and said that the loads were found to be overweight at a CAT scale a couple of miles from the Marten terminal.

Marten Transport Plans To Appeal

Marten has publicly disagreed with the ruling. They claim that the allegedly overweight loads were within legal limits and that Hopper quit voluntarily because he was assigned to drive in a region that he didn’t like. They also say that the other refused loads would not have violated hours of service requirements. They plan to appeal the ruling.

Earlier this month, courts sided with a trucker in a similar case. Driver Cedric Sinkfield was awarded $50,000 after he was reportedly fired for refusing an overweight load.

Sources:
Commercial Carrier Journal

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER

Get the hottest daily trucking news

This Week in Trucking

Videos