It's February!
A busy month on the calendar.
Groundhog Day : February 2 (United States)
Valentine's Day : February 14
Flag Day of Canada : February 15
Presidents Day (United States, third Monday)
Leap Day : February 29 (Every 4 years, with some exceptions)
Black History Month (Canada and United States)
And, in case you are interested, here is a list of Famous February Birthdays.
When Past Employers Have Gone out of Business:
How do you Prove Your Employment History or Correct Your Employment History?
Courtesy of:
DOTJobHistory.com
We have recently received emails from many drivers who have questions regarding a past employer that has gone out of business. The questions have primarily been in two areas.
Here are answers to two representative emails:
I had a previous employer go out of business. When I apply for a job, potential employers always ask for 10 years of employment history and they must verify all driving employment within that time. In addition, they must verify all employment of the past three years regardless of whether or not it was a driving job. How can I prove employment if there’s no company left to provide the verification?
The Department of Transportation Safety Regulations requires employers to perform these past employer investigations. If the employer has gone out of business, the potential employer must document their attempted efforts and what they discovered. That may or may not help you. There’s a chance the employer may be listed on your USIS DAC report—but almost certainly won’t be listed if your previous job was not a driving position.
So, how do you prove that you worked for this company and weren’t, say, incarcerated? In this case, believe it or not, the Federal Government may be able to help you. If you were legally employed, they will have a record of your employer, the employer’s former address, the year in which you worked for that employer and your earnings with that employer. If you have copies of your W-2 forms readily available, the employer may accept these. (If not, DOTJobHistory can, by the next working day, obtain your past 5 years of employment information.)
I had a previous employer who I’m afraid put bad things on my “DAC” report. The company is no longer in business. Is there any way I can get this information taken off?
Absolutely. In fact, this is about the easiest circumstance in which negative information can be taken off your USIS DAC report. If there is negative information on your report, you should dispute the accuracy of the information. That triggers certain actions USIS (which by law is a “Consumer Reporting Agency”) must take under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Specifically, USIS must investigate the information reported by the defunct company and if they cannot verify the information, (which they will be unable to do) delete the information.
To quote the Fair Credit Reporting Act:
§ 611. Procedure in case of disputed accuracy [15 U.S.C. § 1681i]
5) Treatment of Inaccurate or Unverifiable Information
(A) In general. If, after any reinvestigation under paragraph (1) of any information disputed by a consumer, an item of the information is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified, the consumer reporting agency shall–
(i) Promptly delete that item of information from the file of the consumer, or modify that item of information, as appropriate, based on the results of the reinvestigation; and
(ii) Promptly notify the furnisher of that information that the information has been modified or deleted from the file of the consumer.
Of course in this instance, their will be no furnisher to notify, but no matter, the derogatory information will be deleted from your record.
Trucker Buddy of Month Awards
4th Quarter of 2008
Albert and Kym Hemerson – October 2008
Randy Boswell – November 2008
Douglas Wyman – December 2008
ACS October 2008 Drivers of the Month - Albert and Kym Hemerson
Albert and Kym Hemerson are matched with Ms. Barbara Swalina’s 4 th grade class out of the North Glendale Elementary School in Kirkwood, Missouri. They were nominated in April of 2008, near the end of the school year. As Ms. Swalina said, “They have consistently remained in contact with my students throughout the school year; each student receiving several personalized photo postcards.” Albert and Kym took the time to learn about each student’s interests, so that they were able to better communicate about those things to the students. This year they came to see each student present an oral biography. Afterward, each student was given a hat, a tour of their truck and met Snow Toes Lacey (their beagle), and a class picture taken on the running board of their 18-wheeler.
Parents and other school staff members were invited to take part in a special luncheon that was complements of the Hemersons. They arranged lunch from the Old Spaghetti Factory and cookies and ice cream from Coldstone Creamery to be delivered to their school.
After the lunch, during a special ceremony Albert and Kym presented each student with a beautifully framed Outstanding Penpal Trucker Buddy Award.
“I truly believe that Albert and Kym’s commitment to the Trucker Buddy Program has indeed impacted my students positively and educationally,” said Ms. Swalina, “I also believe my students will hold fond memories because of their participation in the program.”
The students had this to say, “They always encourage people to do the right thing. I thank them for doing all the good things they did.” Another said, “They want to make me get up every day and go to school. They make school a little more exciting.”
Submitted by Alexa:
T – Trustworthy
R – Respectful
U - Uses kind words
C - Cold stone
K – Kind
E – Exciting
R – Really nice
B – Best friends
U – Uses their resources
D - Dazzling
D - Different
I – I think they are cool
E – Excellent
S – Snow Toe Lacey
ACS November 2008 Driver of the Month - Randy Boswell
Ms. Linda Myers of the JJ Jones Intermediate School in Mount Airy, North Carolina, and her 5 th grade class cannot say enough good things about Randy, who drives for Florelli Transportation out of West Liberty, Iowa. “After four years of involvement with the Trucker Buddy organization, this was the most successful encounter I have ever experienced. I have never seen such a commitment to a group of students.” Linda has had other good Trucker Buddies and her class always enjoyed corresponding with their road friends writing letters and the truckers would write back, one had even called once to say “Hey” to the class.
Along with the many post cards that overflow from a bulletin board, Randy makes a special effort each and every week to call the class at 11:00 a.m. on Fridays. When the phone rings, the class is filled with the buzz of excitement as the children jockey for position in line to speak with Randy. Shouts are heard, “Trucker Buddy’s on the phone!” The children just can’t wait to speak with Randy. He has a personal message for each of them and they cannot wait to tell him about their sports, their homes and their lives in general.
The praise from Linda continues, “What a huge difference this man has made in my classroom! I cannot believe how much he genuinely cares about my class.”
When Randy came to the school for a visit, the class created a “feast” for him overnight. They planned the entire party themselves; the homemade cakes, presents, cards and cookies even surprised Ms. Myers. “These kids really went out of their way to show their appreciation to him for all he had done for them over the past school year.” Randy was pleased as could be and the children loved having him at their school.
Randy is a true professional, a very gentle man, and as the class says, “He’s country, like we are!” They were sad to see him go but they will be watching for him when he comes to visit Ms. Myers class next year.
ACS December 2008 Driver of the Month - Doug Wyman
Mrs. Chris Younquist’s 5 th grade class at Lincoln Intermediate School in Manmouth, Illinois, has been matched with Trucker Buddy Doug Wyman for the past four years. Doug drives for TMC Transportation out of Des Moines Iowa, one of North America's largest flatbed carriers. This year he took the time, applied for special permits, and brought a John Deere Log Skidder to show to his Trucker Buddy class.
Each year Doug visits the class and this time he was able to bring a load that was very interesting to the children. The log skidder, he was hauling was in route to Troy, Alabama. It was “oversized” and required special permits from the city of Manmouth. The class had many questions about the log skidder, his truck, and his travels. Doug took the time to answer every one. During the year, he sends post cards, letters and e-mails that are informative about he places he travels and the places that his loads go to internationally, using a map to locate and discuss the many different places. Doug poses questions to the students to help them learn more about the trucking industry.
After a tour of his truck and his load, Doug shared treats with the class that his family had made especially for this trip and shared stories and answered questions for the class. “He could have been half way to Alabama but he came and spent time to teach us some things about his job,” as one student commented.
“Doug is always patient and professional with the children. It is extremely apparent how much he loves his job as a trucker. It’s with great respect and consideration that I am nominating Doug Wyman from TMC trucking to be Trucker Buddy of the Month.” Sincerely Mrs. Chris Youngquist.
It's official!
It's two-thousand nine!
At least that is what the majority of you told us in The TruckDriver.com How Do You Say It? Survey.
Interesting - think about 1909 and how you pronounce it. Pick any year from the 1900's. Seems like we should be using 'twenty' as the designated pronunciation, doesn't it?
Maybe in 2010 (Twenty Ten) we'll get back on track.
Here is the breakdown:
1) When you mention the year 2009, how do you say it?
2009 - Two-thousand and nine - 23%
2009 - Two-thousand nine - 41%
2009 - Twenty oh nine - 2.0%
2009 - Oh nine - 21%
Never thought about it until now - 13%
As for 2009, everybody is hoping it will be a year of change - change for the better.
Speaking of change - what about the change in your pocket? Are you keeping it or are you spending it?
Take The TruckDriver.com Pocket Change Survey and let us know how things are changing for you.
Until next time, keep on truckin' and please drive safely.
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