This seems relevant.
Tuesday’s case, New Prime v. Oliveira , involves a dispute between a trucking company (New Prime) and one of its drivers, Dominic Oliveira. When he began work, Oliveira was required to complete 10,000 miles hauling freight for New Prime—for free, as an “apprentice.” He was then compelled to complete another 30,000 miles as a “trainee,” for which he was paid about $4 an hour. Once he became a full-fledged driver, Oliveira was designated as a contractor rather than an employee. He was forced to lease his own truck (from a company owned by the owners of New Prime), buy his own equipment (from the New Prime store), and pay for his own gas, often from New Prime gas pumps.
Typically, New Prime would have to pay all these expenses. But because it classified Oliveira as a contractor, it deducted the costs from his paycheck. Sometimes, that paycheck wound up negative due to these deductions, meaning New Prime essentially charged Oliveira to work for the company.
The good news is that the supreme court ruled that the independent contractors cannot be forced into mandatory arbitration and may proceed with a class action lawsuit against New Prime.
On the one hand, management in trucking is abusive.
On the other, management in trucking can actually be sued.
