Back story: I have had my CDL now for 8 months. Unfortunately within the first 90 days at my first mega carrier I was involved in a rollover accident. I was not cited for the accident, but the truck and trailer was towed from the scene and the very next day the company terminated me. The accident also shows on my PSP report and employment verification.
After being terminated, I was having a very hard time finding a new job. I applied at every carrier I could, and kept getting the same answer. “ You must have 6 months to 5 years of safe driving before we can consider you for a position.” I did not let this stop me.
Fast forward to 3 weeks after the accident, I finally landed a job with a owner operator. It is a 1099 company with a $2500 escrow account. Being new to the industry I didn’t know much about a 1099 company, but at this point they were the only company that will give me a chance, so I took it.
The job started out great with few issues here and there, but for the most part it was manageable. About 2 months at this company. I started having issues receiving my paycheck. This was a red flag to me, but knowing my situation I kept pushing through it, hoping things will get better. It didn’t.
On payday I did not receive a paycheck. I asked the owner the next day, when will I receive the missing paycheck? He told me that it would be available Monday. Monday comes around and I still didn’t received the paycheck and didn’t hear from the owner. Tuesday I call him and he ask me to come in for a face-to-face conversation. I go in and he tells me that he can no longer afford the truck and he can no longer afford to pay me. He told me to remove everything from the truck and that he will pay me the paycheck I never received, and also my last paycheck, including the $2500 refund of the escrow account at the end of the week.
Once I left, he basically ghosted me. I have not received any of the money, and now I am jobless. He owes me over $6000. About 2 weeks later once I realized I’m not going to see that money, I contacted a lawyer, and was advised that the best course of action is to take it to small claims court. So I did. Now just waiting for the court to serve him and fingers crossed I’ll win the case.
Posting this to see if anyone has ran into a situation like this. What did you do about it? We’re you able to recover and any advice? Hoping this post will help other fellow truckers. We don’t deserve this kind of treatment.
