Towing companies that impound vehicles rarely collect their full charges on unclaimed vehicles. Even after deducting the proceeds from the auction sale of the abandoned vehicle, there is usually a large balance, or deficiency, still outstanding for towing, labor and storage fees.
Every year in late summer, I am reminded of Blake Gresham. On August 27, 2012, Blake, who was a 19 year old local tow operator, was struck and killed while he was towing a vehicle from the side of a Kansas City highway. Both before and after Blake’s death, there have been many other tow operators and other emergency workers killed in the line of the duty despite the fact each of the 50 United States now have some form of a Move Over Law.
Municipal tow contracts have certain requirements that the successful bidder must satisfy. These often include certain types of equipment, minimum insurance, and a satisfactory tow lot. But what are a losing bidder’s legal rights when the successful bidder doesn’t satisfy these requirements and the losing bidder does? Can the losing bidder successfully sue to “win” the contract?
If you perform towing for police departments you have no doubt seen an incomplete police impound inventory. It is not unusual for an investigating officer to miss an item or two when filling out the vehicle tow-in report. But miss a human being?!
In 1995 Congress passed a law, 49 U.S.C. § 14501 (c)(2)(C), giving state and local governments the legal authority to regulate the price charged for ‘‘for-hire motor vehicle transportation by a tow truck, if such transportation is performed without the prior consent or authorization of the owner or operator of the motor vehicle.’’ So-called “nonconsensual” transportation services that are subject to price regulations have been interpreted to include private property tow-aways and police-ordered towing.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that overtime pay (1½ times the regularly hourly rate) must be paid to employees on any hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week unless the employee is exempt. However, employees of your tow company may be exempt from the overtime pay requirement pursuant to the “motor carrier” exemption in Section 13(b)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Is “on call” time compensable? Many tow companies require a driver to occasionally take their truck home at night or to answer weekend calls. However, some tow companies do not have a plan in place for determining whether this time is compensable. This is important because uncompensated “on call” time can quickly turn into a wage and hour nightmare of minimum wage and overtime claims.
Employment related lawsuits are on the rise nationally and the tow business is no exception to this trend. Tow companies are now faced with many new types of employment related lawsuits that few considered several years ago. Employment related lawsuits range from overtime and minimum wage claims from drivers to the more standard type of employment related lawsuits from support staff. Fortunately, there are some simple steps that tow companies can take to help protect themselves.
If an impounded vehicle goes unclaimed, every state has a law requiring the impounding towing company to notify the last known registered vehicle owner and lienholder, if any, of the impound, the amount of outstanding charges, and the possibility that the vehicle will be sold if it remains unclaimed. These requirements must be met to perfect a lien, if one exists. The notice must be sent via certified mail within a specified number of days, typically five to seven days.
The towing trade publications and websites routinely carry reports about tow truck drivers who, in the process of hooking-up or servicing roadside accidents on the roadside, are struck and seriously injured or killed by vehicles that were supposed to safely pass by. All too often, the drivers of the crashing vehicles are drunk or otherwise impaired to the point they should not be operating a motor vehicle.
