Proposed legislation targets harmful practices in commercial truck leasing
In a significant move aimed at protecting truck drivers, U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley has introduced a bill that seeks to ban predatory lease-purchase programs used by trucking companies. The bill acts on the first recommendation included in a report submitted to Congress in January by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Truck Leasing Task Force (TLTF).
The TLTF was created by the U.S. Department of Transportation to investigate the prevalence of contracts drawn up by trucking companies that exploit drivers. The report, which was the culmination of a series of meetings held by TLTF between July 2023 and December 2024, asserts that carrier lease-purchase programs create an inequitable power dynamic that carriers exploit for lower-cost manpower.
The report further suggests that these programs are tools of fraud and driver oppression. They are designed to provide motor carriers with greater profits than conventional employment arrangements, shifting the expense of buying, maintaining, and operating tractors onto the driver. According to Todd Spencer, OOIDA President, drivers who enter lease-purchase programs often work excessively to survive.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, a member of the Truck Leasing Task Force, agrees with the findings of the report and believes that banning carrier lease-purchase programs is long overdue. Todd Spencer stated that these programs have been historically used to exploit drivers.
While some task force members saw lease purchase programs as a potential path to small-business ownership, the report reveals that they cause widespread harm without offering meaningful scale opportunities for truck and small business ownership. The report states that lease-purchase agreements are irredeemable tools of fraud and driver oppression that threaten a safe national transportation system and diminish the number of truck drivers.
The bill, if passed, would amend federal regulations to prohibit the use of such programs by certain motor carriers. The Truck Leasing Task Force's report has been submitted to Congress, and the bill aims to address the issue of driver exploitation in the trucking industry.
Another U.S. representative who has shown support for this legislation is Representative Angie Craig. The bill's introduction marks a significant step towards ensuring fair practices in the trucking industry and safeguarding the rights of truck drivers.
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