How Trucker Training Impacts the Company’s Bottom Line

By Lisa 0

Training is vitally important in every industry, and even more so in industries such as trucking, which requires technical skills and is known for its related dangers.

Focusing on training in the trucking industry is for more than profit. It can help protect the safety of the company’s employees, as well as everyone else on the road. Here are three ways in which training for truckers can impact a company’s bottom line.

Decreased Number of Accidents

Increased driver training, and the subsequently gained experience, lead to fewer accidents. This can have a variety of positive impacts on your company’s bottom line. For one, it can help reduce your insurance costs. Next, it can prevent injuries to your existing drivers, relieving you from the job of to hiring and training new drivers. Finally, it can also help prevent lawsuits from on-the-road car accidents. 

How is this all possible? Firstly, according to Concentra, training can help reduce the overall number of accidents. Secondly, and just as importantly, is that it helps reduce your liability by showing that your company is trying to protect your drivers.  All we know is that training your truckers helps your company’s bottom line.

Improved Performance

Trucking companies can increase their bottom line by improving their performance across a variety of metrics, and proper training can help show drivers how to improve in a variety of ways, including safer driving, quicker times, better route selection and improved relations with customers and vendors. Improving these areas will lead to more sales, fewer costs and an improved bottom line. In particular, good training can lead to better fuel mileage. According to L3Harris, when drivers are armed with the proper tools and knowledge they can drive more efficiently. This ultimately adds up to the entire fleet becoming more efficient.

Increased Productivity

Training can show truck drivers a variety of important skills and techniques which can be invaluable towards increasing productivity and efficiency. Trucker training is about more than just learning to drive, but involves teaching business practices, loading techniques and using technology for better driving. Results of training translate to lower costs—and more money—for both the driver and your company.

There is a major shortage of truck drivers in the United States, meaning businesses need to do everything they can to save costs, find good truck drivers, and protect existing drivers through effective training practices. By providing good training, businesses can help protect and retain their truckers while at the same time improving their bottom line.

When you start a business, you’ll want to make sure that you have adequate protection against potential risks. Read more here about what kinds of protection you need!

5 New 2019 California Employment Laws Every Business Owner Should know

By Jessica Suotmaa 0

California will implement many new regulations in the coming year. As a small business owner, it’s important to remain up-to-date with new legislation so that you can ensure your business is in compliance with State regulations. As employment defense attorneys, we encourage businesses to take preventative action before they’re sued by their employees. Here’s five ways you can avoid an employment related lawsuit in 2019:

1. Is he/she an Independent Contractor or an Employee?

The ABC test for determining whether your independent contractor is truly an independent contractor or actually an employee was already implemented in April this year (2018).  The California Supreme Court ruled on the subject in its decision on Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court. Since then, to determine whether your worker is an independent contractor or employee, you should ask yourself the following:

A – Is the worker free from your control and direction?

B – Does the worker’s performance take place outside your company’s usual scope?

C – Does the worker primarily function in an external, independent business or trade?

The answer to all three questions should be “yes”, if not, you cannot issue a 1099 for their work. This means many existing 1099 workers, such as freelancers and contractors, can no longer be considered independent contractors.  Also, if you are self-employed and using a 1099, you may need to administer the ABC test on yourself.

Read more on Forbes’ An End of an Era? How the ABC test could affect your use of independent contractors

2. Do I have to pay the $11 or $12 state Minimum Wage?

In 2016 California passed a legislation raising the state minimum wage to $11 an hour for those working in small businesses with fewer than 25 employees.  For businesses with more than 25 employees, the minimum wage is $12 an hour.

3. What about agricultural workers has changed?

Employers of agricultural workers with more than 26 workers will see changes in overtime policy.  Where the current law requires agricultural workers to be paid time and a half after ten hours of work in a day, or sixty hours in a week, the new law reduces the threshold.  In 2019, an agricultural worker working over 9.5 hours in a day, or 55 hours in a week, will be entitled to time and a half.

But what if you don’t have 25-26 agricultural employees? What if you have 10? The law does not go into effect for you until 2022.

4. Do I have to accommodate breastfeeding mothers?

Yes, yes you do.  Federal law requires employers to accommodate lactating mothers by providing them time and place to expunge breast milk, but it did not specify what type of room. As a result, many mothers were required to pump in a restroom, or even take their infant into a restroom with them.  New law, called lactation accommodation, requires employers to provide nursing mothers with a private room that does not have a toilet stall.

5. What about the #metoo movement and Workplace Sexual Harassment?

Sexual Harassment training used to only be required of companies with over 50 employees, but starting in 2019, even small businesses with as few as five employees will be required to provide sexual harassment education.  The new law mandates that, within two years, supervisory staff should have a minimum of two hours of sexual harassment training while non-supervisory staff should have one hour of sexual harassment training.

 

 

Source: https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/northbay/sonomacounty/8947388-181/california-employment-law-2019