Driver Employment Contract

What is a Driver Employment Contract?

A driver employment contract is a legally binding agreement between an employer and a driver that defines the terms and conditions of employment. This document outlines the following essential elements:

• party details;
• driver’s responsibilities and duties;
• contract’s duration;
• establishment of a probation period (if any);
• salary amount and payment schedule;
• additional benefits; and
• termination of employment.

This driver employment contract sample could be customized for various driver roles:

• truck driver (i.e., transportation of cargo for short or long distances);
• office or corporate driver (i.e., a driver that transports personnel or staff).

A driver employment contract is a special type of a general employment agreement.

Under an employment agreement, an employer hires a person to perform certain work according to the agreed schedule and under an employer’s supervision. In the case of a driver employment agreement, a company hires a driver (i.e., an employee) for work in exchange for regular remuneration and bonuses.

An employer could be an organization, for instance, a logistics company or any other type of business or organization. An employee under the employment agreement is always an individual.

Driver Employment Contract vs. Independent Contractor Agreement – what is the difference?

Knowing the difference between these two documents help you easier to pick up which exact document should cover contractual arrangement between you or your business and a truck driver:

If you are looking for professional driver services without the need of starting employment relations and any other hassle, an independent contractor agreement template could be a right choice for your business. If, however, you need a person for the performance of daily routine driver tasks in line with your company’s internal policies and performance standards, in this case the present driver employment agreement can help you.

Why do you need a professional driver job agreement today?

Employment of office and truck drivers in the United States is a complex legal process that requires thorough due diligence of tons of applicable federal and state laws. FasterDraft gets your back covered here as we offer a fully customizable driver job agreement sample that offers you the following benefits:

• Full compliance with U.S. laws. Our template aligns with the most recent requirements of Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act (CMVSA) 1986, Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act (OTETA) 1991, and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 49 Code of Federal Regulations.
• Created by humans. We do not offer AI automation or customization documents, generic legal templates, or templates suitable for multijurisdictional usage.
• Reviewed by professionals. Our templates are regularly reviewed by legal professionals to ensure it aligns with best employment practices and applicable federal and state employment laws.
• Reduces disputes. A professional document significantly reduces the risk of litigation or disputes between the parties.
• Saves legal costs. An average U.S. attorney will charge you at least $200 for drafting a simple document from scratch. At FasterDraft you can customize your document template online at a small fraction of real legal costs.
• Ready-to-use in minutes. 85% of our US users complete the customization process within the first 5 minutes. The customization process is easy and straightforward.

Household employer driver vs. driver employment agreement—which one do I need?

Hiring a driver for a family to help around with household chores and hiring a truck or corporate driver as an ordinary employee are two different things. If your family is looking for a personal driver, this is known as “household employment,” for which the present driver employment agreement template cannot be used. While both documents deal with the employment of drivers in the U.S., the compliance, tax, and regulatory requirements differ significantly.

Save your business from FMCSA civil penalties by knowing hiring compliance requirements.

A driver employment agreement must comply with a variety of additional federal laws and regulations provided by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

• Commercial Driver’s License (49 CFR Part 383). If the driver is being engaged in the transportation of hazardous materials, carrying a defined number of passengers, or navigating a truck above a weight threshold, in such a case, a valid CDL-appropriate license must be presented while signing this agreement.
• A medical certificate and examination (49 CFR Part 391, Subpart E). The employer should keep at all times a driver’s current medical certificate from a medical examiner listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, confirming they are physically qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle. This certification typically must be renewed every 24 months.
• Mandatory drug and alcohol testing (49 CFR Part 382). Under the OTETA 1991 and FMCSA’s implementing regulations, employers must run a drug test for a driver each time they perform any safety-sensitive function. On top of that, while onboarding a new driver in the organization, employers must also apply to the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (49 CFR Part 382, Subpart G) to check if there are any previous violations on the driver’s side. Such a check could only be performed upon the receipt of the prior written consent from the employee.

What does this driver employment contract template cover?

Our driver employment contract template includes the following essential elements:

List of Duties

Every driver employment agreement template should define the responsibilities of the driver. These may include various tasks, like maintaining driving logs, ensuring cargo safety, and more. It is essential to understand that the list of duties varies depending on the driver’s type.

If you are creating a lorry driver employment contract template, the contract may oblige the driver to load and unload cargo. It may also include a driver’s responsibility to keep the cargo’s documentation safe. When drafting a personal driver contract of employment sample, parties need to think about punctuality and confidentiality clauses instead.

Safety and additional disclaimers

To be eligible for work, a driver has to comply with a number of conditions:

• be at least 18 years of age (or more depending on the state);
• held a valid driving license; and
• has a clean medical record upon request.

It is vital for every driver employment contract sample to include a driver’s consent to a GPS tracking clause. This clause allows an employer to track and monitor a driver’s route while they are on duty. Besides that, it also ensures the overall safety of a vehicle, as well as of cargo or passengers. If, however, a driver can use a working vehicle for personal purposes outside of working hours, in that case the GPS tracking clause should exclude those private trips from the monitoring.

Contract Duration and Termination

Same as for all other employment contracts, a driver employment contract could last for an indefinite or a fixed period of time. If a driver employment contract is concluded for a fixed period of time, it can last from a few months to a few years depending on the parties’ arrangement. A driver employment contract sample can also include an automatic prolongation clause. Under this clause a contract is being prolonged automatically after its end date for the same period of time.

Either party to the employment agreement shall have a right to terminate the contract at any time. In that case a prior written notice should be sent to another party. A notice period can be 15, 30, or 60 days. The longer parties work together, the longer a notice period usually should be.

A typical truck driver contract agreement sample gives an employer a right of immediate termination. This basically allows an employer at any time to end employment relationships with a driver. There is a hidden practicality behind such a clause. If the employer has reasonable grounds to believe that a vehicle or cargo might be at risk, the employer should be able to end the employment contract instantly.

Working Hours and Probation Period

Every driver employment contract template should include an expected number of working hours, shift rotations, and days off.

Besides that, a contract may also contain a standby clause. This clause basically means that a driver should remain available and ready to work during certain periods in a week or in a month. If the clause is included, in that case a driver employment contract should provide a special standby hourly rate.

Drivers must also comply with house of services and Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) introduced by the 49 CFR Part 395. The provisions of the employment agreement cannot mandate the driver to remain on duty for more than 11-hours within a 14-hour on -duty window. All the working hours should be logged in a special FMCSA-registered Electronic Logging Device rather than paper logs. Such electronic registration prevents employers for bypassing a federal limitation and forcing drivers to work more than statutory limitation.

Payment Terms

Every driver job agreement sample should include detailed information about the payment terms.

First, parties have to define the exact amount of remuneration. It could be an annual, monthly, or weekly salary. It all depends on the employer’s internal policies. The driver job agreement template should clearly define if the indicated salary is the gross (before taxes) or net (after taxes) amount.

Second is to determine the frequency with which payment should be made. Unlike in service agreements, a remuneration in employment relations should be paid regularly—per day, per week, or per month.

Finally, the parties should also agree on the acceptable payment methods, which are usually bank transfers.

Confidentiality Clause

Not all employment contracts with a driver may need inclusion of a confidentiality clause. For instance, for a truck driver employment agreement template that deals with a daily delivery of products within the city, this might not be essential.

A confidentiality clause for a personal driver contract of employment sample is a must.

A personal driver usually has access to a family’s sensitive information, including daily schedules, places for visits, names of children’s schools, etc. Therefore, protection of such information is important against its disclosure to third parties.

A driver undertakes to keep confidential all received information during the whole duration of a contract, as well as for some time after its termination. Usually a driver has to keep information confidential for between one and three years after the end of employment relations.

How to customize a contract template at Faster Draft?

To get your personalized office or truck driver employment agreement template, follow steps below:

1. Click the button “Create Document” to start customizing process.
2. Answer simple questions in the questionnaire.
3. Select a document’s format—driver employment agreement PDF or Word.
4. E-sign the document online for free (for employers).
5. Make a payment.
6. The document is ready for digital download immediately after the purchase.
7. Print the document in two copies – one for an employer, another for a driver.
8. Send one copy of this agreement to a driver (by email, post or in person).
9. Make the driver sign this agreement.
10. The document becomes legally valid and enforceable upon its signing by both parties.

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