|
The Michigan House of Representatives is considering a series of bills that will devastate the way that trucking companies use independent contractors to assist with their freight operations. Michigan Trucking Association has joined forces with numerous other associations creating a coalition to show strong opposition to these bills -- but we can't do it without you.
House Bill 4390 and its companion legislation implements a new test that determines when a person should be classified as an independent contractor or an employee. Under the test, trucking companies would have the burden to prove that a person should be classified as an independent contractor if they meet all three components of the California “ABC Test.”
Under the ABC Test, workers are presumed to be employees.
Furthermore, trucking companies who continue to classify employees as independent contractors, even if unintentional, could incur tenfold monetary fines and potential years-long prison sentences. This basically institutes a bounty system for workers who bring their own complaints about classification by awarding up to three times the amount of wages and fringe benefits wrongly withheld.
And it is not just truck drivers. It includes outside salespeople, lawyers, engineers, accountants and many other licensed professionals whose expertise supports trucking companies in moving freight; they will be negatively impacted as well.
Now is the time to act! Although the Legislature is on summer recess, we need you to contact your state representative today to voice your opposition-- tell them how House Bill 4390 and its companion legislation would devastate your company and the Michigan trucking industry.
Regards,
Jill Sokacz
President & CEO
jsokacz@mitrucking.org
| 
