Supreme Court confirmation hearings for nominee Neil Gorsuch are under way. And as he faces scrutiny by U.S. lawmakers, truck driver Alphonse Maddin is shedding light on the Neil Gorsuch decision that he just cannot shake. Abovethelaw.com wrote about the case recently, highlighting Gorsuch’s decision making:
The Tenth Circuit decided a case called TransAm Trucking v. Dept. of Labor. The case talked about how Maddin broke down on a freezing Illinois road, at night, out of gas.
‘The frozen trucker’ Alphonse Maddin
He called TransAm. They told him to wait with his load.
He found that the brakes had frozen. The cab of the truck was unheated. He called TransAm again, who told him to wait again. Hours passed. He called TransAm again, explaining that he had symptoms that sound a lot like the early onset of hypothermia. TransAm told him, according to court records, “to either drag the trailer with its frozen brakes or stay where he was.”
After three hours in the cold, Maddin unhitched the trailer and went in search of gas. Eventually, the trailer was secured, and Maddin was fired for violating orders.
Maddin sued, and an arbitrator ruled that his termination was illegal under laws that protect employees from being compelled to operate vehicles in unsafe conditions. Appeals ensued, and the Tenth Circuit sided with Maddin, 2 – 1.
The one dissenter was Neil Gorsuch. In his opinion, Gorsuch wrote:
“It might be fair to ask whether TransAm’s decision was a wise or kind one. But it’s not our job to answer questions like that. Our only task is to decide whether the decision was an illegal one. The Department of Labor says that TransAm violated federal law, in particular 49 U.S.C. § 31105(a)(1)(B). But that statute only forbids employers from firing employees who “refuse to operate a vehicle” out of safety concerns.
“And, of course, nothing like that happened here. The trucker in this case wasn’t fired for refusing to operate his vehicle…. The trucker was fired only after he declined the statutorily protected option (refuse to operate) and chose instead to operate his vehicle in a manner he thought wise but his employer did not. And there’s simply no law anyone has pointed us to giving employees the right to operate their vehicles in ways their employers forbid.”
When describing Gorsuch’s dissent recently, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said: “According to [Maddin’s] recollection, it was 14 degrees below. So cold, but not as cold as your dissent, Judge Gorsuch.”
What would you have done in Maddin’s position, drivers? Join our community here and share your thoughts.
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Although Drive My Way is relatively new to the trucking world, there’s one team member so immersed in the business she is considered an institution.
As the owner of Joe’s Hitch and Trailer, a company that designed and installed custom trailer hitches and truck accessories for the outdoor market, Wozniak nearly doubled the company’s business, to $1.5 million.
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My, how times have changed! When I started driving in the early 1980s, trucks were so different than they are today. I can recall taking my driving exam. The examiner checked to make sure the lights worked and the truck actually had a seatbelt (the truck was used for tests because it was the only one that had a seatbelt that worked).
her stellar safety record to J.B. Hunt’s strong safety culture and the Smith safety system the company uses. J.B. Hunt drivers go through Smith System safety training every two years.
Rick Ash is an owner operator with more than 3 million accident-free miles to his name. In the 29 years he’s had a 
“I’ve always been someone who’s been concerned and aware of the image of the truck driver,” he continues. “We play a most vital part in the ability of the average American to be able to live their life the way they want to. All necessities come by truck, and I think we’re looked at not always positively because of the way we’re portrayed in the media.”
discussion, too. She’s been dressing up ever since she began trucking two years ago, and she loves every minute of it.
After a long day or night on the road, maintenance might be the last thing on your mind. But as little as 20 minutes could make the difference between a safe journey and truck troubles when you get back on the road.
