Truckers push FMCSA to end evasion of broker transparency regs

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has long pushed for greater transparency and better enforcement of existing regulations.  OOIDA filed a petition with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration urging immediate action on key issues to improve broker transparency. 

Small-business truckers who have helped keep the nation safe, healthy and supplied through the COVID-19 pandemic are now struggling and worried that their businesses will not survive. One long-time problem that has been exacerbated by the current crisis is the evasion of federal transparency regulations by unscrupulous brokers. 

“Brokers have been deliberately skirting federal transparency regulations for decades,” said Todd Spencer, President and CEO of OOIDA.  “We certainly don’t think exempting yourself from federal regulations is legal, but this is precisely what is happening. It has to stop.”    

Brokers are third-party entities that contract with truckers to haul freight for shippers, commonly known as broker-carrier agreements. Federal regulations require brokers to maintain detailed records of their transactions with motor carriers. Motor carriers have the right to view this information, which includes how much a shipper is paying a broker and how much the broker is then paying the motor carrier. 

OOIDA’s petition explains that brokers often find ways of circumventing federal regulations (49 CFR §371.3) that require them to keep records of transactions and make them available to carriers upon request.

OOIDA petitioned FMCSA to strengthen the regulations in 49 CFR §371.3 by doing the following:

1. Require brokers to automatically provide an electronic copy of each transaction record within 48 hours after the contractual service has been completed.

2. Explicitly prohibit brokers from including any provision in their contracts that requires a carrier to waive their rights to access the transaction records as required by 49 CFR §371.3.

“We realize some brokers might not like the regulations, but that doesn’t give them the right to blatantly skirt them without any recourse,” said Spencer. “Brokers must no longer be given a free pass to avoid compliance with federal transparency requirements and those who continue to evade the regulations must be held accountable. That is what our petition is trying to accomplish.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the largest national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has more than 160,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, Mo. area.