This is the second blog post to accompany our video series on legal myths. The previous blog post/video sought to dispel some inaccurate beliefs that drivers may have about their rights to be free from searches of their sleeper berths.
This video and blog post focuses on another common misconception by addressing the question, are carriers required to show load confirmation sheets to owner-operator drivers? Even though it may seem likely that this would be the rule required by the regulations governing federal motor carriers, it is not a strict requirement. Rather, other options exist for a carrier to comply with the law.
The Department of Transportation’s truth-in-leasing regulations state that, if you are paid based on a percentage, you are entitled either to receive a copy of the invoice given to customers (referred to in the regulations as the “rated freight bill”), or instead to receive a computer-generated settlement document containing the same information contained on a rated freight bill. This information includes:
- Origin
- Destination
- Miles
- Piece count
- Possibly weight (in the case of LTL shipping)
- Charges to customer including linehaul and any fuel surcharges
If your employer gives you a computer-generated settlement that contains this information, it suffices as an invoice that gives you proof of what the customer is being charged.
Finally, regardless of how you are paid—whether by the load, mile, hour, day, week, etc.—carriers must provide employees with the rate circulars, rate confirmation sheets, and tariff sheets, and other methods the employer uses to calculate employee compensation. The employer can block out the customers’ identifying information on these sheets, and they don’t have to give you physical copies, but your employer must produce and show you this information if you have given your employer reasonable notice that you are requesting it.