Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/641412
12 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 2016 JOURNAL NEWS • Truck operators for three drayage carriers owned by XPO Logistics (CCJ Top 250, No. 12) – Pacer Cartage, PDS Transportation and Harbor Rail Transport/Intermodal Container Services – filed a class action lawsuit seeking pay- ment over alleged misclassification as contractors instead of employees, which led to lower wages and denial of state- mandated breaks, plaintiffs claim. Troy Cooper, XPO Logistics chief operating officer, said the suit "is without merit." • The California Labor Commissioner concluded that 38 Pacific 9 Transportation drivers are employees – not contractors – and that the dray- age company owes them $6,926,279 in wages. The commission's Department of Labor Standards Enforcement order represents an average individual award of $182,271, the Teamsters union said. Pac 9 drivers began their sixth and indefinite strike last July to protest what they say are unfair labor practices at the Carson-based company. • Land-Air Express of New England, a less-than-truckload company with 330 trucks and 340 drivers, was allowed to resume operations Jan. 7. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had placed the Vermont-based fleet out of service Dec. 29 after a compliance review had resulted in a "proposed unsatisfactory" safety rating in October. Land-Air then failed to submit a correc- tive action plan within 60 days. FMCSA upgraded the carrier's rating to "con- ditional" based on a negotiated safety management plan and said it would monitor its safety performance closely for the next two years. • CRST Expedited (CCJ Top 250, No. 17) has applied for an exemption from the regulation that requires a commercial driver's license holder to be seated in INBRIEF 2/16 New York, New Jersey ports propose banning older trucks T he Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is accepting comment on its proposal to ban trucks with older engines from its port facilities. Starting March 1, the port authority would require trucks seeking to enter service to have engines that meet 2007 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on-road emis- sions standards. The proposal also would deny access to trucks with 1994 and 1995 engines by Jan. 1, 2018. The port authority said it will supplement a $9 million federal grant it anticipates receiving for its Truck Replacement Program with an additional $1.2 million. This would provide $10.2 million to replace about 400 trucks with 1994 and 1995 engines that now serve the ports. Port officials said they would continue pursuing additional TRP funding. The authority also is working with financial institutions to see if low-interest loans can be made available to replace trucks with 1996-2006 engines that currently enter the ports. Its initial replacement program accepted applications from 2010 through 2013 and replaced 429 older trucks. The proposed ban is posted at www.panynj.gov for a comment period that ends this month. – Jill Dunn Morgan crash: Driver indicted on counts of manslaughter, vehicular homicide K evin Roper, the truck driver at the center of the fatal June 2014 tractor-trailer crash involving actor Tracy Morgan, has been indicted on the manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges brought against him in the aftermath of the crash. The New Jersey Turnpike crash killed comedian James McNair and left Morgan and several oth- ers critically injured. Roper, a Walmart driver, fell asleep at the wheel in the moments preceding the crash, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Roper was indicted in late December on charges of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second- degree vehicular homicide and third- and fourth- degree aggravated assault. Walmart has settled all civil suits stemming from the crash, including undisclosed settlements with McNair's family and those injured in the crash, including Morgan. NTSB concluded in its investigation that Roper was traveling about 20 mph over the posted 45 mph speed limit and had been awake for 28 or 29 hours out of 33 hours prior to the crash. He had driven about 800 miles in his personal car from Georgia to Delaware the night before he began his on-duty driving period and failed to react when he approached traffic moving at about 10 mph. – James Jaillet The port authority would require trucks seeking to enter service to have engines that meet 2007 EPA on-road emissions standards. Walmart driver Kevin Roper fell asleep at the wheel in the moments preceding the New Jersey Turnpike crash that killed comedian James McNair.