Truck Driver Issues

Werner suspends 401(k) match for employees to cut costs

Truckload carrier Werner Enterprises, coming off a first quarter in which it posted an operating loss, has suspended its 401(k) matching program for employees.

A Werner (NASDAQ: WERN) spokeswoman confirmed the validity of a screenshot circulating online that announced the suspension of the matching program. She added that the suspension is considered “temporary.”

“As part of our previously communicated $40 million cost savings initiative for 2025, Werner is taking intentional steps to streamline...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/werner-suspends-401k-match-for-employees-to-cut-costs

Duffy restores enforcement of English language proficiency rules for truckers

AUSTIN, Texas — In a high-profile announcement, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy signed an order Tuesday to reintroduce strict enforcement of English language proficiency standards for commercial truck drivers. Backed by President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, the policy marks a shift in how the Department of Transportation will handle driver qualification violations moving forward, placing language noncompliance back on the list of criteria for placing drivers out of service.

“W...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/duffy-restores-enforcement-of-english-language-proficiency-rules-for-truckers

Georgia tort reform aims to change practices in judicial “hell hole”

With tort reform in Georgia in the books, the celebration cry among Georgia defense attorneys now might be “we’re number three!”

That ranking of the Peach State was jokingly referred to by attorney Blair Cash of the Moseley Marciniak Law Firm, a South Carolina-based practice that focuses much of its work on defending trucking companies. 

Cash, who is based in Georgia, made the comment in a webinar Friday to review a package of tort reforms approved by the Georgia legislature earlier this year and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/georgia-judicial-hell-hole-looks-to-change-that-with-recent-tort-reform

Amazon involved in legal action over deaths in 2 states, possible scam in 1

Amazon has found itself involved in three recent legal developments regarding its trucking operations.

In one, it suffered a setback in Indiana in a lawsuit involving a driver who was killed near a fulfillment center. In another, prosecutors in Connecticut said the company was scammed out of $3 million. And in the third, a tractor-trailer pulling an Amazon load near Chattanooga, Tennessee, was involved in an accident that led to multiple deaths and charges against the driver. 

In the Indiana...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/amazon-involved-in-legal-action-over-deaths-in-2-states-possible-scam-in-1

Is English proficiency enforcement the right focus for safer roads?

In a controversial return to past policy, the Trump administration and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy have reestablished lack of English language proficiency (ELP) as an out-of-service (OOS) violation for commercial drivers. 

“My Administration will enforce the law to protect the safety of American truckers, drivers, passengers, and others, including by upholding the safety enforcement regulations that ensure that anyone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle is properly qualified and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/is-english-proficiency-enforcement-the-right-focus-for-safer-roads

2 markets in 1 quarter: Auto-hauling demand volatile for Proficient

With its business tied to the fate of the U.S. automobile market, it is no surprise that Proficent Auto Logistics, the only publicly-traded auto hauler, had a schizophrenic first four months of the year.

The bottom-line numbers were not positive. Proficient had a significant weakening of its operating ratio in the first quarter. The company recorded an OR of 98.7%, compared to 93.2% a year ago. Sequentially, it improved by 10 basis points to 98.8%.

Proficient (NASDAQ: PAL) reported an operating...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/2-markets-in-1-quarter-auto-hauling-demand-volatile-for-proficient

RXO finds positives in quarter marked by soft market and profit loss

(For a review of some of the data in RXO’s earnings, please go here.)

With another quarter of operating and net losses in the book, RXO management on its first-quarter earnings call pursued several paths to accentuate the positive.

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https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rxo-finds-positives-in-quarter-marked-by-soft-market-and-profit-loss

New Jersey, feds take opposite paths on independent contractor rules

The past week saw two developments in the battle over defining independent contractor (IC) status: One would likely tighten the definition of what jobs hold IC status in a state that is a key transportation hub; the other would work to loosen the standards.

In New Jersey, the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development last week said it had filed a notice of proposal for new rules with the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law that would codify a definition of the ABC test throughout...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/new-jersey-feds-take-opposite-paths-on-independent-contractor-rules

CEO Leathers says Werner ‘acting decisively’ after red-ink quarter

Coming off a quarter with not just a net loss but an operating deficit as well, Werner Enterprises CEO Derek Leathers tackled a performance that he said “clearly did not meet our expectations.”

“We faced several challenges during the quarter, some industry-wise, some specific to Werner, but we are acting decisively to address them,” he said. In post-market trade, Werner (NASDAQ: WERN) stock was down as much as 5%, and it’s down about 25% in the past three months. 

A summary of the company’s key...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ceo-leathers-says-werner-acting-decisively-after-red-ink-quarter

2 more charged in death of Louisiana staged accident witness

A new indictment in the staged accident scam in Louisiana charges a disbarred lawyer and another man with participating in the murder of a cooperating witness who was gunned down in his home in 2020.

The superseding indictment in what prosecutors have dubbed Operation Sideswipe was unsealed Friday and reported by the U.S. attorney’s office Monday. It replaces a January indictment that charged Ryan Harris, 36, also known as Red, with murdering Cornelius Garrison at his home. When that indictment...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/2-more-charged-in-death-of-louisiana-staged-accident-witness

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