The Department of Labor found trucking company TrueStart Transport violated whistleblower laws after firing a truck driver who refused to illegally haul an oversize load.
Maugansville, Md.-based TrueStart Transport has been ordered to pay a truck driver more than $46,000 in backpay and damages after an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation found the company violated whistleblower protection laws. The owner, Nazin Akhmedov, and his son and dispatch manager, Alex Akhmedov, fired the driver after attempting to coerce him into illegally hauling a load.
On Dec. 3, 2023, the driver for TrueStart Transport was at a rest area in Tennessee when he noticed a problem. Looking over a permit, he realized he needed an escort for the next leg of his trip. He called Alex Akhmedov to inform him of the issue but was told to move forward without an escort.
Both Akhmedovs told the driver to avoid the permitted route requiring an escort. However, the trucker told them that violated Department of Transportation regulations. Undeterred, the Akhmedovs informed the driver that he would not be getting an escort. Unwilling to violate the law, the trucker refused to move further without the required escort.
Alex Akhmedov told the driver he could remove his stuff from the truck and go home so that his father, Nazin Akhmedov, could complete the haul. The trucker took this to mean he was getting fired. According to the Department of Labor’s findings, the driver recorded his conversations with the Akhmedovs.
Nazin Akhmedov arrived at the Tennessee rest area the next day. He told the driver that if he wanted to keep his job with TrueStart Transport, he would have to do things Nazin Akhmedov’s way.
The trucker believed he had two options at this point: continue to drive for the company and break the law or get fired. He chose the latter. The driver had to find his own way home from the rest area at his expense.
One week later, the driver filed a whistleblower complaint with OSHA against TrueStart Transport. Neither of the Akhmedovs provided a position statement after receiving OSHA’s notification letter, nor did they respond to the agency’s due process letter.
OSHA found that TrueStart Transport and the Akhmedovs violated the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, which gives whistleblower protections for truck drivers. In addition to reinstating the driver’s employment, the company has been ordered to pay the trucker more than $46,000, including more than $9,600 for backpay and interest, $25,000 for pain and suffering, $1,400 for travel expenses and $10,000 in punitive damages.
TrueStart Tranport also must remove all negative information about the driver it entered on his Drive-A-Check report. Additionally, in the next two years, the company must give all current and future drivers a copy of an OSHA fact sheet about whistleblower protections for truck drivers.
“Our investigation found TrueStart Transport wrongly fired the employee for insisting they follow safety requirements, which is a protected right under federal law,” OSHA Regional Administrator Michael Rivera said in a statement. “The company’s actions were inexcusable and illegal and undermined an employee’s rightful concern for their own safety and the safety of others on the road.”
According to FMCSA’s Safety and Fitness Electronic Records, TrueStart Transport operates five trucks with two drivers and is currently active. The company could not be reached for comment.
Whistleblower protections for truck drivers
The Surface Transportation Assistance Act includes whistleblower protections for commercial motor vehicle workers, which were strengthened in 2007.
Federal law prohibits employers from retaliating against truck drivers who refuse to operate a commercial vehicle that would violate federal regulations. Drivers are also protected for filing a complaint or cooperating with federal, state, local or law enforcement investigations. Retaliation can include firing, blacklisting, demoting, intimidation, threats and pay reduction, to name a few.
Truckers have 180 days from the date the retaliatory actions occurred to file a complaint with OSHA. Drivers can file a complaint at OSHA.gov/whistleblower/WBComplaint.
In addition to truck drivers, commercial vehicle mechanics, freight handlers and any other job for a motor carrier directly affecting truck safety are included in the whistleblower protections. For more information, visit whistleblowers.gov. LL
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