Blue Line Trucking owners Paul and Joyce Dost purchased several dump trucks and other equipment, hired drivers and then sent them to Louisiana for hurricane Katrina relief. Drivers drove straight through from Michigan to their destination. All seemed good until aproximately the end of April in which drivers began NOT getting their paychecks. Excuses were numerous ranging from the paperwork is messed up to no one got time sheets at the office in Reese, Mi.
During memorial week end, 2 trucks and drivers were given short notice to return to Mi. Drivers again were told to pretty much drive straight through (no log books were ever instructed to be used by Blue Line) and arrived to the Reese, Mi company yard at aprox. 1-1:30am in the morning. One driver had no personal vehichle at the yard and because his only ride lived over an hour away, he slept in the truck he drove back to Michigan in. Around 10-10:30 am the same morning they returned, one driver asked the head mechanic if there were any company vehichles available (pick-up trucks) to drive home as he was not able to reach his ride (holiday week end and no one was home). The mechanic tried to reach owner Paul Dost via cell phone but was unable to. Driver stated to mechanic he didn't want to get into trouble for just taking a company pick up and mechanics response was... Well, ya gotta get home somehow. Driver did take truck home and then needed to wait for his girlfriend to get out of work close to 9pm so she could follow him with the company truck to the trucking yard so it could be returned. When driver returned to the yard with the truck, the owner, Paul dost was waiting for driver. Mr. Dost began waiving his arms around and yelling, accusing driver of fraudulent time sheet activities, destroying company property while in LA (accused driver of smashing up a pick up which his mechanic actually did but blamed driver and there are witnesses to that fact. Accused driver of hauling "junk" for another trucking company and pocketing the money... Supervisor in LA says differently as does driver, and wrecking a bob cat taillight doing... Get this... Wheelies??? And accused driver of working on a private individuals personal vehichle on company time... This person is willing to provide written documentation that it in fact was OFF company time).
During Mr. Dost's verbage, he told driver he would never work for him again, he was no good, and very lucky he was not leaving the trucking yard via ambulance.in the course of the ranting and raving, Mr. Dost happened to look up and notice drivers girlfriend sitting in her own pick up truck and asked driver who the hell was that in that truck. Mr. Dost asked driver if she knew all the things driver had done and then stated he was going over to her truck to tell her. The girlfriend unbeknownst to Mr. Dost had already heard his ranting/raving and her the threat to have driver leave via ambulance (aha! A witness) but was very scared of this man.
He began once more to rant and rave to her about his accusations against driver. Now, this was aproximately 11 pm, not only was the driver thinking he was going to get his a* kicked by the owner, the girlfriend thought the same and was afraid for herself... And her 10 year old daughter who was laying down on the club cab seat was afraid for her mom, her moms boyfriend (the driver) and herself. Yep... The 10 year old heard it all too. Mr. Dost is a parent and grandparent and apparently doesn't give a sh*t how he talks to or in front of anybody.
Mr. Dost has not only NOT paid this driver for 4 consecutive weekly pay dates but has done the same to other drivers who worked in LA. His reply for not paying is... When he gets his pay from the governent... He will pay his drivers. He used that excuse with the driver in this instance and says he will be deducting all damage to company property, and fraudulent time sheet activity from drivers pay. There were never any papers signed by driver agreeing to this pre-employment and all employees were in fact employees of Blue Line Trucking and NOT the LA government. It is Blue Lines responsibility for paid wages regardless if money from the Gov't hadn't been received yet. This company is in direct violations of public health codes 360 (go to the State of Michigan web site and click on the wage and hour division... Its all there). Complaints have been filed with the wage and hour division.
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