
Blind Justice
I would like to share some information from my own personal experience that has recently came to light. On January 10th, 2022 I was hired by a small family owned trucking company to haul containers out of the Los Angeles ports. I was a new driver and I only had my CDL for three months. The pay was pretty decent, benefits were terrible but I was working inside the ports which was my ultimate goal. They had some shady business practices such as making me falsify my drivers log, not allowing me to take lunches, shaving time off my days that I worked, and a lot of other employment violations. I’m very aware of labor laws so I was documenting everything as the days passed. I had my eyes set out on the company I work for now, so my plan was gain the nine months experience I needed to work where I’m at so I can officially submit my application.
Finally the time came, I spoke with a recruiter and submitted my application and fulfilled all the DOT requirements such as taking a drug test and passing the physical exam. The last step was for my employer to verify my employment with the company I wanted to work for. My employer did not want to verify my employment which is a DOT violation and so I reported them to the DOT for all the violations they subjected me to. I let them know I reported them so they retaliated against me by “Ghost Terminating” me which is basically not calling me for work and not saying anything. Luckily for me I was able to provide my check stubs as a form of employment verification.
Although I got hired by my new employer, I’m very vindictive and I decided to contact an employment attorney in August of 2022. I spoke with intake and provided the information and evidence I had been gathering. Six months had passed, so I decided to follow up with my potential claim last week. They reviewed my case and I was able to speak with an attorney on Thursday and received some very good news. Not only are they taking my case, we are filling for a “Class Action” which I get to represent. This is great news because I get to bring Justice for any new driver that was taken advantage of by this employer. This may financially cripple this company, but they should of thought of their actions and the families drivers are trying to provide for. I don’t think it’s fair drivers can’t move on to better opportunities and get held back because a smaller company cannot financially compete with larger companies. Those are shady business practices I do not condone. A little tip to everyone, no matter what industry you are in always document any incidents you have with management. My attorney said my incidents were well documented and she never seen anything like it in her 30 years in employment law. She also said she would have taken the case even if she was working by herself. ⚖️

What do you all think about the Ban the Box initiative. This is the bipartisan legislation that Corey Booker and Rob Portman, among others, are sponsoring which would stop employers from asking about criminal history on applications. Heres' 2 links if you are interested.
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/ban-the-box-bill-federal-jobs.aspx
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/08/consequences-of-ban-the-box/494435/
#banthebox #secondchances #incarceration #criminalhistory #felon #employmentlaw