Hi everyone, I’m writing on behalf of my boyfriend who I believe was wrongfully terminated during CDL training. I’ve tried to stay calm, but the more I dig, the more it looks like this company is taking advantage of new drivers and I’d really appreciate legal insight or advice on next steps.
Location: Texas
Here’s exactly what happened:
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Timeline:
July 19: He flew out to meet his assigned mentor at a training terminal in Texas. The mentor didn’t show up that morning like he said he would he claimed his wife was in the hospital and didn’t arrive until 5 PM the next day. So my boyfriend was stuck in a hotel lobby until they were able to extend the room after having to fight to get in contact with someone, at that point he was trying not to oversleep or miss the meetup because he wasn’t given an exact time on when the mentor would get there. That’s how the training started.
July 20: He finally meets the mentor and they go on the road. My boyfriend drives about 5 hours that day and the mentor decided to shut down for the day. Since they were near his hometown, he asked if he could go home overnight and return in the early morning the mentor said yes. He took an Uber back to the truck by 4:02 AM the next day, exactly as instructed. But the mentor didn’t wake up until two hours later and admitted he forgot to set his alarm. My boyfriend was not able to go back to sleep or rest, and was pretty much just waiting for him to wake up.
July 21: Despite the late start and lack of rest, my boyfriend drives again about 1.5 hours this time but tells his mentor he’s getting tired. He didn’t want to risk driving fatigued. The mentor said he was going to find him a new trainer that could possibly work more with his sleeping schedule and dropped him off back home that same day. Apparently, the mentor doesn’t get paid unless the truck is moving, so I’m guessing that played a role.
He was never reassigned to another mentor, never officially told he was being terminated, and had no communication from the company after that.
July 29 — Surprise Tuition Bill
He gets a random call from the loan payments department’s, saying he owes $7,995 for CDL tuition.
This was the first time he was told he’d been terminated. He couldn’t even log in to the company portal anymore it had already been disabled. When he asked why he was terminated, the loan payment rep said they had to ask someone else, then called back saying it was because he only drove “5 hours one day and 1 hour the next.”
Mind you, this was his second day of training. He was still learning, and pulled over for safety which he believed was the right thing to do. And now they’re trying to stick him with thousands in training debt without even notifying him formally.
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What We’ve Done So Far:
– Filed a retaliation complaint with OSHA under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA)
-Submitted a request for legal help through Lone Star Legal Aid
– Requested a written termination letter
– Documented everything — names, texts, dates, hours driven
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What I’m Trying to Understand:
– Was this retaliation for refusing to drive while tired?
– Can they really charge him tuition if they terminated him this early, without reassignment or formal notice?
– Shouldn’t there be a written termination before they lock him out and send a bill?
– Has anyone dealt with something similar, or know what agencies/laws protect CDL trainees?
He doesn’t have a lot of money for a private attorney, which is why I’m doing the legwork here. But I feel like they’re trying to get away with something and I’m not letting that happen without a fight.
Thank you in advance for any legal advice or next steps.