For anyone who cares...

Hate 150lb Packages

Well-Known Member
If anyone has cared enough to follow my last post... I intentionally violated my DOT time three times in 2 weeks by accurately logging my work hours. I logged in as soon as I left home, instead of logging in after I was loaded and leaving (4 hour difference). The station manager approached me and said I had 3 DOT violations, and I said, yes I know. I told him I did it intentionally to draw attention from upper management to our horribly long working hours. I asked him what they thought of it. He looked puzzled and simply said that if I got two more before 1-1-14 I'd be DQ'd. He said he had no opinion on the log in times and the hours were up to my contractor. I told him we are all blatantly violating federal DOT guidelines and he said nothing. Just sticks his head in the sand. He also echoed the same opinion from "upper management". What a pathetic system.

This is the same manager who gives me personal cell number to customers calling in to complain about 07's. He never hesitates to call me with his concerns or to relay information. When I ask for something as simple as an address location, or to research an address that I know his bad when I load, he says "Thats what CPC is for". Anyway, my head is going into the sand like everyone else's.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
So what if you are intentionally violating DOT regulations? It is also part of those same regulations that provide for your disqualification, isn't it?
 

Hate 150lb Packages

Well-Known Member
Im one of 10 drivers who do. I honestly logged them and it showed that no one cares, other than to give me a DOT violation. My hope was that it would force attention onto the contractors to hire more drivers or lessen the hours. I asked one of the contractors who is also a driver why they do this and he said that commute time before the sort is NOT considered DOT driving hours. I disagree, and I know the manager does too, but he just cares about numbers. An entire terminal of falsification does not create good service numbers, so they sweep it under the rug I suppose. As I said, *head goes into sand now*. There are terminals like this BBSAM, and I hope they are the exception and not the norm.
 

Hate 150lb Packages

Well-Known Member
To answer your question, yes. It is a catch 22. If I be honest, I get canned for HOS violations. I'm I'm dishonest, I and everyone else am also violating DOT regs. There is NO WAY around the hours. We violate because of the commute times, not because of actual time doing P&D. Because it is commute, everyone turns a blind eye. Commuting is just as dangerous as city driving, so I'm the lone dissenter. As stated before, the people I question either play dumb, don't know, or adamantly state that commute times from home in a take home Ground vehicle are NOT DOT hours.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
I'm simply saying that the station management cannot step in and insist on more drivers. That would be exerting too much control. The crap end of the stick is that the contractor will let you be DQ'd and let another driver take your place.
'
 

Hate 150lb Packages

Well-Known Member
That was my fear. I am now on the radar. Thus the ostrich tactic. I now see how ugly the system is. I'm on the outs anyway, just waiting for a few minor details in the hiring process elsewhere. I see the point in not stepping in, but I also know that powerful people can "influence" contractors in different, more oblique ways. It was a long shot, and I know they know what's going on... but in the end its all about service numbers and $$$. If something happens, all the blame is placed on the contractor, or more likely, the poor bastard of a driver. What an evil system. It makes my skin crawl. I feel deep sorrow for any drivers ever caught in this kind of web that get canned for no fault of their own. Then again, they're probably too dumb to realize it anyway. Sad, sad, sad. Good job Fred. You created something purely monstrous.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
If anyone has cared enough to follow my last post... I intentionally violated my DOT time three times in 2 weeks by accurately logging my work hours. I logged in as soon as I left home, instead of logging in after I was loaded and leaving (4 hour difference). The station manager approached me and said I had 3 DOT violations, and I said, yes I know. I told him I did it intentionally to draw attention from upper management to our horribly long working hours. I asked him what they thought of it. He looked puzzled and simply said that if I got two more before 1-1-14 I'd be DQ'd. He said he had no opinion on the log in times and the hours were up to my contractor. I told him we are all blatantly violating federal DOT guidelines and he said nothing. Just sticks his head in the sand. He also echoed the same opinion from "upper management". What a pathetic system.

This is the same manager who gives me personal cell number to customers calling in to complain about 07's. He never hesitates to call me with his concerns or to relay information. When I ask for something as simple as an address location, or to research an address that I know his bad when I load, he says "Thats what CPC is for". Anyway, my head is going into the sand like everyone else's.

Please note that this individual informed a FedEx Management Employee what basically everyone is doing...falsifying AND violating DOT regulations. The manager's response? Blame it on the employee and let the contractor handle it. Sweep it under the rug and take zero action because to do so threatens the business plan. Who oversees the contactors? Why that would be FedEx management, of course. The scam goes all the way from the bottom right up to the top, and they know exactly what is going on.

FedEx gets free labor for stem times, and the employee gets both blamed and disciplined. This company is corrupt to the core. Dude, you need to quit this scam, write a letter to the appropriate agencies, and move on to something that matches with your intelligence. Ground is a bad deal all around, except for the contractors and Fred.
 

hypo hanna

Well-Known Member
That was my fear. I am now on the radar. Thus the ostrich tactic. I now see how ugly the system is. I'm on the outs anyway, just waiting for a few minor details in the hiring process elsewhere. I see the point in not stepping in, but I also know that powerful people can "influence" contractors in different, more oblique ways. It was a long shot, and I know they know what's going on... but in the end its all about service numbers and $$$. If something happens, all the blame is placed on the contractor, or more likely, the poor bastard of a driver. What an evil system. It makes my skin crawl. I feel deep sorrow for any drivers ever caught in this kind of web that get canned for no fault of their own. Then again, they're probably too dumb to realize it anyway. Sad, sad, sad. Good job Fred. You created something purely monstrous.

If you are leaving anyway, why not out this practice to the Dept of Transportation? Those HOS rules are in place to make everyone who uses the public roadways safer. You, me, our kids, everyone. Don't let fedex get away with it.
 
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Mr. 7

The monkey on the left.
I don't get it. If it takes me an hr. to drive to work, I don't consider that "driving time" on the company dime. Just b'c you're driving a marked truck, you're not really working, you're just commuting like every other person that drives to and from their place of employment. How would the DOT be interested in how long it takes you to get to work to start working just b'c it happens to be in a marked truck? If you're not getting paid during that time, you're not working.
 

STFXG

Well-Known Member
I don't get it. If it takes me an hr. to drive to work, I don't consider that "driving time" on the company dime. Just b'c you're driving a marked truck, you're not really working, you're just commuting like every other person that drives to and from their place of employment. How would the DOT be interested in how long it takes you to get to work to start working just b'c it happens to be in a marked truck? If you're not getting paid during that time, you're not working.

He is driving the company vehicle. So it depends on his working condition and how he is being treated by his employer. I have a driver that is allowed to take the truck home at the end of the day. I consider him working for me from the minute he leaves his house until he gets home. He is on-duty when he pre-trips the vehicle and off-duty after post-trip. Here are the DOT rules for commuting in a CMV:


<<Personal Conveyance Exception (Personal Reasons)

FMCSA Question: If a driver is permitted to use a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) for personal
reasons, how must the driving time be recorded?


When a driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work, time spent traveling from a driver’s home to his/her terminal (normal work reporting location), or from a driver’s terminal to his/her home, may be considered off duty time.



The driver who uses a motor carrier’s Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) for transportation home, and is subsequently called by the employing carrier and is then dispatched from home, would be onduty from the time the driver leaves home>>
 

Hate 150lb Packages

Well-Known Member
We are issued the vehicles to take home. Im most tired in the morning commute up, and even more tired on the way back. I transport my self and equipment. The pay is all salary. I get paid the same daily rate if I deliver two packages or if I deliver 1,000. I can take a long nap as long as I finish my route in line with PUP windows. It is set up this way to glean free labor from us of course. It is very hazy to say whether or not I get "paid" for the drive. I say yes. I keep equipment with me and transport it and myself to the sort, so I consider it working. The only time FeDEx will care is if something catastrophic happens, and then they will only care about self image and try to do damage control. The only way is out. I definitely plan on spamming any agency that has an email, local, state, and federal. I fear that they won't care either.
 

STFXG

Well-Known Member
If you are REQUIRED to take the truck home then you are on duty. If it is offered as optional then you wouldn't be on duty. It doesn't matter what YOU consider working.

You're in gray area with how you're being paid as well. Check your state laws. Many states only allow a salary to managers. Again, that depends on how your employer has classified you and how he has set up your job. He could argue that you manage your own day and the responsibilities of the route are yours.

Your contractor sounds like a scumbag. But from a legal standpoint he is likely not breaking any laws.
 

HomeDelivery

Well-Known Member
It is very hazy to say whether or not I get "paid" for the drive. I say yes. I keep equipment with me and transport it and myself to the sort, so I consider it working.

it's definitely a gray area; i consider it a perk and not working if i have an extended service area ~ my contractor says it's optional if you want to go straight home with the package car Vs. wasting extra time going back to the hub & commuting to your home in the personal car...

The only time FeDEx will care is if something catastrophic happens, and then they will only care about self image and try to do damage control. The only way is out. I definitely plan on spamming any agency that has an email, local, state, and federal. I fear that they won't care either.

true, i already known 2 people that DQed out doing what you're doing ~ but not including the commute time as actual on-duty (they will go over 14 hours without adding that). i've also known a few others that doesn't live close to the extended service areas to quit on the spot or at least with one weeks notice. they'll most likely get another "PT Barnum" candidate to fill in & FALSIFY on-duty/off-duty times, just for a steady income. the key point for that contractor is to find a driver that lives close to the service area. Ground is tougher since you need to bring in those pickups at night, while HD can wait until the next morning's audit...

unlike what Nick is blabbering about in another thread, the economy is still in the toilet & i'm still seeing an influx of over-qualified temp drivers coming into the terminal for this peak season.

slight off-topic: i saw an opening for temp drivers for brown; is it too late for me to switch over? at this time i probably won't go to a full-service integrad school

 

MaineGroundDriver

Well-Known Member
Hmm .. I have only gone over my DOT hours once that I can recall and it was the final day before Christmas two years ago under extenuating circumstances .. you guys that are forced to work over hours are getting screwed and your contractor should be adding more drivers if that's the case .. end of story
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
If you are REQUIRED to take the truck home then you are on duty. If it is offered as optional then you wouldn't be on duty. It doesn't matter what YOU consider working.

You're in gray area with how you're being paid as well. Check your state laws. Many states only allow a salary to managers. Again, that depends on how your employer has classified you and how he has set up your job. He could argue that you manage your own day and the responsibilities of the route are yours.

Your contractor sounds like a scumbag. But from a legal standpoint he is likely not breaking any laws.

You make a good point about the optional vs. required angle. However, what is the contractor getting out of sending these folks home with the vehicle? If it's just deadhead commute mileage, that's one thing. Are they fueling on the way in? What if they get into an accident on the way in or the way home? If he is transporting equipment and himself to work, I'd say it's "on-duty" time, but maybe this is one for the lawyers.

If you are in uniform, behind the wheel of a FedEx logoed vehicle, I'd say it's free on-duty labor. And yes, the contractor sounds like a total scumbag.
 

STFXG

Well-Known Member
You make a good point about the optional vs. required angle. However, what is the contractor getting out of sending these folks home with the vehicle? If it's just deadhead commute mileage, that's one thing. Are they fueling on the way in? What if they get into an accident on the way in or the way home? If he is transporting equipment and himself to work, I'd say it's "on-duty" time, but maybe this is one for the lawyers.

If you are in uniform, behind the wheel of a FedEx logoed vehicle, I'd say it's free on-duty labor. And yes, the contractor sounds like a total scumbag.

I'm not sure about his situation, but I have a driver who takes his vehicle home. For him, he lives 70 miles from the terminal in the area he delivers. The convenience is that he starts at 6 a.m. and drives in to the building. If there is a problem in the morning I can shuttle his volume to him by throwing a trailer on behind one of the other trucks. He is almost always off duty by 2 p.m. So if another route in the area (2 ground and another HD) is heavy, or a vehicle breaks down, I can put volume on him or have him sweep pickups to make sure the entire area is serviced. I've even had him stay home in the morning and shuttled his volume to him when he has needed a half day off for something. Since HD runs tues-sat he can also be called in in an emergency situation and meet up out there for a few hours.

Our insurance covers any qualified driver in the vehicle. It doesn't matter if they are on-duty or not.

HD doesn't have to return to the terminal at night. Once the last package is off it really doesn't matter if the truck comes back or not.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
It is ALWAYS the driver's responsibility to maintain a legal log. If that means ending your day before your deliveries are done, that is what it means. The ONLY way the DOT will fine FedEx is if you reach the end of your legal on duty time, contact your boss and your boss forces you to continue. They can send you out with 20 hours of work every day and it is up to you to end your day at the end of your legal hours.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
You can also call your local state patrol commercial enforcement and tell them that you believe most drivers in your group are falsifying logs. If they find your info legitimate, they will audit your contractors logs and possibly the logs of others in the building.
 
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