The U.S. Department of Transportation’s effort to restrict non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses is increasing risk for motor carriers, especially in the area of employment law.
“It’s one of the least obvious consequences of this expanded CDL oversight by the federal government,” said Josue Aparicio, a partner at Hanson Bridgett LLP. “The more control you exercise over drivers, the more you are opening yourself up to a driver later contending that they are an employee and we’re improperly classified as an independent contractor.”
In September, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an interim final rule tightening non-domiciled CDL rules. At the time, Secretary Sean Duffy said it could result in the removal of up to 194,000 drivers from U.S. highways. A federal appeals court stayed the rule in December.
Aparicio and other partners at Hanson Bridgett hosted a webinar to advise trucking fleets on how to reduce liability and maintain compliance amid increased scrutiny of CDL qualifications.
They said verifying CDL validity is essential, but doing so improperly can expose fleets to employment liability and worker classification concerns, especially in an employee-friendly state like California.
Aparicio’s advice was to narrow CDL compliance to regulatory requirements. It can appear to be an employment relationship or performance management when a fleet instructs a driver on how to avoid a license suspension or helps them complete paperwork.
Fleets can verify whether...
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