Oh, Just Give The Lawyer The Documents, Already!

The "company", whose owner is a bigwig on the board of the New England Livery Association, has decided to take his time turning over all paperwork associated with the so-called Independent Contractor who is seeking overtime and back wages. Thus far, all they have revealed is the number of trips done in the time frame of approximately 13-months.

EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY FOUR.

Does that include the ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-THREE times you subbed-out the "Independent Contractor" to Boston Coach?

Just turn over the paperwork and do the right thing for a change. Turn over copies of the hand-written checks, the daily trips sheets, the Independent Contractor agreement...(the one with the forged signature), and everything else associated with this Chauffeur.

All you're doing by delaying this is opening up a giant can of worms with the Attorney General, IRS, and that Fortune 500 company. You know the company I'm referring to. The one with the employee out on disability and unable to work - but was able to work under the table for you for 9 years, receiving checks made out to her husband. Not to mention the rest of your under-the-table employees.

Do you REALLY want to go down this road?

Wild Claims and Outright B.S.

In one case being discussed by lawyers in Massachusetts, a livery company has stated an Independent Contractor, who used the livery company's vehicles, phone, and GPS, was not able to work for any other company, received her work the night before, never signed a contract stating what she would receive per job, and also experienced many other violations of the Independent Contractor law, has been informed by the company's lawyer that since she often accompanied one of her clients (a client who would only ride with her, and has since followed her to a new company where she IS an employee) into retail stores to help her because she is 75-years old, she wasn't REALLY working!!

Excuse me, New England Livery Association BOARD MEMBER, but have you lost your mind?

The guidelines in the Fall 2008 New England Livery Association Newsletter which discuss differentiating between whether or not a Chauffeur is an employee or an Independent Contractor lists 10 rules one should follow. The President of the New England Livery Association violates EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.

By the way, that former employee needs a 1099 from 2007, so she can file her taxes. Of course, in the course of filing those taxes, she will also receive a determination from the IRS that she wasn't an Independent Contractor, but an actual employee. Perhaps that is why you haven't sent that particular 1099 to the IRS.....

To GPS Or Not To GPS, That IS The Question:

Your "defense" that since the Independent Contractor went home on occasion during the 4 or 5 hour gap between jobs, she wasn't working is completely contradictory. You say you know this because she was GPS'd, however; you aren't supposed to GPS Independent Contractors per the New England Livery Association's Fall Newletter and the 3-prong state of Massachusetts rules. How can you use GPS as a defense that she wasn't an employee? That makes no sense whatsoever. Independent Contractors are supposed to be "FREE FROM CONTROL".

Get it yet? You will.

We're "LIVERY", We Don't Have To Pay Overtime!!!

This is the latest claim by one livery company in Massachusetts. Since they are LIVERY, they think they can put you in a car for 12 to 15 hours a day and only pay you for the jobs you do. So if you do 3 runs in a 12-hour period, you might make 90 dollars. Little do they realize, if you are in one of their cars, you are working!! This means they must pay you at least an hourly wage per hour.

And by the way? Some of you don't have DOT registration numbers displayed on the outside of your vehicles. You do realize that's a violation of the DOT, don't you? You want to fall under the overtime rules of the DOT, but you don't want to spend the time or money following the guidelines.

This Is So Funny, It's Sad

http://www.nelivery.org/about/codeOfEthics.cfm

WHAT ethics?

How many of these Board Members were involved in the lawsuit against Boston Coach for non-payment of tips? These affiliates knew what they should have paid their Chauffeurs, but instead, they pocketed the money.

Well, Isn't That Special!!!!

The New England Livery Association has come out with guidelines to help companies learn how to separate their Independent Operators from their actual employees, and to make sure these companies do not misclassify Independent Operators who are actually working as employees. This pamphlet was left for Chauffeurs to read at Logan Airport.

The real irony in all of this is the fact that a few of the chief players and board members of the New England Livery Association are the biggest violators of them all!!!

If you read the list of guidelines, they fail on every single issue.

There should be a class action lawsuit against these companies that fail to pay hourly wages, overtime, worker's compensation, state and federal taxes, and unemployment insurance.

One day soon, it might just happen.....

Stay tuned.