Glossary
Owner-Operator Truck Driver
A truck driver who owns or leases their own tractor and hauls freight under contract with a motor carrier, usually as an independent contractor rather than an employee.
An owner-operator is a truck driver who owns or leases the truck they drive and contracts with a licensed motor carrier to haul loads under that carrier's operating authority. On paper, owner-operators are independent business owners. They typically pay for fuel, maintenance, insurance, and truck payments out of their share of the freight revenue.
Federal "Truth in Leasing" regulations govern the lease between an owner-operator and the carrier. Under 49 CFR 376.12, the lease must clearly state the compensation to be paid, specify every charge-back item that will be deducted from the driver's pay, and spell out the terms of any escrow fund the driver must post. Drivers have sued carriers for taking undisclosed deductions, not returning escrow money, or hiding the revenue figures their percentage pay is based on.
The larger fight is over employment status. Many carriers recruit new drivers into lease-purchase programs, where the driver leases a truck from the carrier or an affiliate and drives exclusively for it. Drivers in these programs have claimed the arrangement was employment in disguise: the carrier controlled their loads and schedules, yet after truck payments and charge-backs some weeks paid below minimum wage. If a driver is found to be an employee, wage laws, overtime rules in some settings, and expense reimbursement laws can apply. California's ABC test makes this especially contested there.
See our pages on trucker unpaid wages, independent contractor misclassification, and the CRST minimum wage settlement.
Related on Best Class Actions
Sources.
Statutes, court rules, appellate opinions, and bar publications we relied on. See our editorial standards.