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Minutes for HB2020 - Committee on Transportation
Short Title
Providing that the employment status of a driver of a motor carrier does not change as a result of the inclusion of safety improvements on a vehicle.
Minutes Content for Thu, Mar 9, 2023
Chairperson Petersen called the meeting to order at 8:31 a.m. and opened the hearing on HB2020.
Assistant Revisor Adam Siebers reviewed the bill (Attachment 1). He explained the bill would state any implementation of motor carrier safety improvement required by a motor carrier shall not affect the worker status of a driver. Responding to a question, he said the same bill passed the Senate during the 2022 session, but died in the House.
Lindsay Leibach, Director of Safety and Membership Services, Kansas Motor Carriers Association (KMCA), testified in support of the bill (Attachment 2). She stated that the KMCA supports truck safety but wants to clarify that Kansas law distinguishes between an employee and an independent contractor. When a trucking company implements required telematics safety measures, such applications could appear to reclassify an independent contractor as an employee; such a misclassification is an obstacle to independent drivers. This bill removes that perceived obstacle and will free trucking companies from having to choose between pursuing safety measures and facing misclassification risks.
Responding to a question, Ms. Leibach replied that liability rests with the trucking company, Mr. Siebers added that the bill adds a new section to the statutes dealing with labor employment, not the motor-carrier area of law. Deann Williams, Executive Director, KMCA, explained that the term "bonded servant" on line 21 of the bill is the same as an independent contractor; the purpose of the bill is to protect a driver from being classified as an employee
Prasad Sharma, Transportation Attorney, District of Columbia, Office of Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson, and Feary, testified via Web-ex in support of the bill, which he called a common-sense, pro-safety bill (Attachment 3). He said the bill removes an impediment to adopting safety technologies, safety measures which companies might view as reclassifying independent contractors to be employees. He stated that the bill is narrowly targeted to protect independent contractors, who are an integral part of the trucking industry. Responding to questions, he replied that eight other states have recently enacted similar laws.
The Chair closed the hearing on HB2020.
