Leaving For School On Midnight May 4th

Keep your head up Doug. We're all pulling for you. This may be a dumb question but I know some carriers pay reimbursement for CDL training. Do any out there pay for the situation Doug is in? Just asking... I want Doug to realize his dream.

I've asked recruiters that question before. They seem annoyed by it, honestly. They only reimburse schooling.

Any updates on jobs yet?

Doug reads the fine print:

There is a clause that states that a student cannot be employed by another company unless the school cost plus room and board is paid. That's a total of around 7000.00.

Junkyard Dog is encouraging:

Keep your head up Doug. We're all pulling for you. This may be a dumb question but I know some carriers pay reimbursement for CDL training. Do any out there pay for the situation Doug is in? Just asking... I want Doug to realize his dream.

The Non-compete clause has come up here before. Really the easiest way to get out of this is to complete the training with your "schooling" company and finish out the payment of the contract. Anything else involves lawyers ($$) and chances of getting out of it are slim.

Errol, here is the situation, they dismissed me and I can't go back to finish. I wrote the school director and asked him to explain why this happened when two of my instructors told me I was improving. In fact on my last mock test I passed with 9 points and was told if it had been the actual test I would have passed. However, I was not allowed to take the test again. To date I have not received any statement from the school or a reply to explain the situation.

Everything seemed to be going fine until I witnessed a serious safety violation where one of the students could have been seriously injured or worse. I reported this to the instructor and he blew me off. I then reported the incident to the lead instructor for the day. That was Saturday, I was called into the office and dismissed early Monday morning.

There has been some discussion here about how a non-compete clause works if a student is booted out, compared to if said student quits and walks away.

This is the kind of thing you could take to a lawyer and ask their opinion. If they take it on contingency, you get a free ride. The worst case is they write a nasty letter for you and you pay, say, $100.

At any rate, it only seems right for the school to tell you just why you were dis-invited, and if it's their decision you should be entitled to release from that clause.

Doug, has CRST contacted you for payment yet? I think the debt is the issue here. I've never seen a non-compete be binding on someone in your situation but unfortunately it doesn't have to be, CRST can still be a large PITA. Take care of the debt and your other problems go away. I wouldn't waste one dime on talking to a lawyer about the non-compete but if CRST tries to hit you up for anything close to $7,000 it might be worth your while to talk to a lawyer then and see about negotiating that figure down just a wee bit and by a wee bit I mean about 40-50%

Hobo, CRST has not sent out a statement yet, but I am expecting one. I'll see what happens, and if need be talk to a lawyer. But if worse comes to worse I'll set up an affordable payment plan and start paying. Thanks you guys for the input and ideas.

Errol, here is the situation, they dismissed me and I can't go back to finish. I wrote the school director and asked him to explain why this happened when two of my instructors told me I was improving. In fact on my last mock test I passed with 9 points and was told if it had been the actual test I would have passed. However, I was not allowed to take the test again. To date I have not received any statement from the school or a reply to explain the situation.

Everything seemed to be going fine until I witnessed a serious safety violation where one of the students could have been seriously injured or worse. I reported this to the instructor and he blew me off. I then reported the incident to the lead instructor for the day. That was Saturday, I was called into the office and dismissed early Monday morning.

Doug it's very rare that I would recommend seeking legal advice, but this might be one of those times.

Can you elaborate on what happened and why you thought it necessary to go above your instructor's head? Did you call CRST Human Resources to report the incident? Honestly, I'd put it in writing; cc your recruiter and send to the HR contact immediately following the phone call.

Hope it works out for you.

G-Town, I witnessed an incident where a student bent down under a trailer to pickup a cone that had been run over, next to the passenger side drive wheels. If the tractor would have moved she would have been runover. This was done as the driver was training on an alley dock maneuver. I was the only one who saw her in danger. I yelled for the student to get away from the danger point which she did. When she was clear and safe I went to the instructor in charge of the student driver and told him what had just happened. He refused to listen to anything I had to say and disregarded what I had seen. That's when I decided to tell the lead instructor for that day. He said that wasn't good and that he'd have to discuss it with the instructor. At the time I didn't see any reason to take it further. I never thought about a report to anyone else. I do have a written account of the incident although I haven't shared it with anyone.

G-Town, I witnessed an incident where a student bent down under a trailer to pickup a cone that had been run over, next to the passenger side drive wheels. If the tractor would have moved she would have been runover. This was done as the driver was training on an alley dock maneuver. I was the only one who saw her in danger. I yelled for the student to get away from the danger point which she did. When she was clear and safe I went to the instructor in charge of the student driver and told him what had just happened. He refused to listen to anything I had to say and disregarded what I had seen. That's when I decided to tell the lead instructor for that day. He said that wasn't good and that he'd have to discuss it with the instructor. At the time I didn't see any reason to take it further. I never thought about a report to anyone else. I do have a written account of the incident although I haven't shared it with anyone.

I wish you had let us know this sooner...trust us Man!

Doug...you seem like a decent, honest person and do not deserve this. I am as tough as nails when it comes to believing made-up "stories". I think you know this, your's seems truthful and sincere.

As you may know; not too long ago there was a trainer from Swift killed in a similar fashion.

In my most emphatic voice; "contact CRST Human Resources and/or their safety department and try to work this out." Based on this, you really should not owe them a thing, thus releasing you from their contract so that you are free to pursue other opportunities.

Please do not hesitate any further. Be your own advocate!