What are my legal options if I am required to be transported to work station in an unsafe bus?
Full Question:
I am a civilian employee working on a military base. Due to construction, I am required to park in a designated parking lot and be picked up by a bus and transported to my workplace. The buses have high steps that are not lit up making it hard to see. They are buses used to transport military personnel. The buses are not heated or air conditioned and the windows cannot be opened. The smell of diesel fuel fills the bus. The buses are not equipped with seat belts. I am not being paid for the time I am on the bus. This situation will remain in effect for the next two to three years. I feel this situation is unsafe, not healthy, and not right. What legal options are available to me?
01/27/2009 |
Category: Employment |
State: Texas |
#15085
Answer:
Time spent traveling during normal work hours is considered compensable work time. Time spent in home-to-work travel by an employee in an employer-provided vehicle, or in activities performed by an employee that are incidental to the use of the vehicle for commuting, generally is not "hours worked" and, therefore, does not have to be paid. This provision applies only if the travel is within the normal commuting area for the employer's business and the use of the vehicle is subject to an agreement between the employer and the employee or the employee's representative.
Please see Texas transportation statutes below to determine applicability.
§ 548.051 TRANSP. Vehicles and Equipment Subject to Inspection
(a) A motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or mobile
home, registered in this state, must have the following items inspected
at an inspection station or by an inspector:
(1) tires;
(2) wheel assembly;
(3) safety guards or flaps, if required by Section 547.606;
(4) brake system, including power brake unit;
(5) steering system, including power steering;
(6) lighting equipment;
(7) horns and warning devices;
(8) mirrors;
(9) windshield wipers;
(10) sunscreening devices, unless the vehicle is exempt from sunscreen
device restrictions under Section 547.613;
(11) front seat belts in vehicles on which seat belt anchorages were
part of the manufacturer's original equipment;
(12) tax decal, if required by Section 545.104(d)(1);
(13) exhaust system;
(14) exhaust emission system;
(15) fuel tank cap, using pressurized testing equipment approved by
department rule; and
(16) emissions control equipment as designated by department rule.
(b) A moped is subject to inspection in the same manner as a
motorcycle, except that the only items of equipment required to be
inspected are the brakes, headlamps, rear lamps, and reflectors, which
must comply with the standards prescribed by Sections 547.408 and
547.801
§ 545.413 TRANSP. Safety Belts; Offense
(a) A person commits an offense if:
(1) the person:
(A) is at least 15 years of age;
(B) is riding in the front seat of a passenger vehicle while the vehicle
is being operated;
(C) is occupying a seat that is equipped with a safety belt; and
(D) is not secured by a safety belt; or
(2) as the operator of a school bus equipped with a safety belt for the
operator's seat, the person is not secured by the safety belt.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) operates a passenger vehicle that is equipped with safety belts; and
(2) allows a child who is younger than 17 years of age and who is not
required to be secured in a child passenger safety seat system under
Section 545.412(a) to ride in the vehicle without requiring the child to
be secured by a safety belt, provided the child is occupying a seat that
is equipped with a safety belt.
(c) A passenger vehicle or a seat in a passenger vehicle is considered
to be equipped with a safety belt if the vehicle is required under
Section 547.601 to be equipped with safety belts.
(d) An offense under Subsection (a) is a misdemeanor punishable by a
fine of not less than $25 or more than $50. An offense under
Subsection (b) is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $100 or more
than $200.
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) the person possesses a written statement from a licensed physician
stating that for a medical reason the person should not wear a safety
belt;
(2) the person presents to the court, not later than the 10th day after
the date of the offense, a statement from a licensed physician stating
that for a medical reason the person should not wear a safety belt;
(3) the person is employed by the United States Postal Service and
performing a duty for that agency that requires the operator to service
postal boxes from a vehicle or that requires frequent entry into and
exit from a vehicle;
(4) the person is engaged in the actual delivery of newspapers from a
vehicle or is performing newspaper delivery duties that require frequent
entry into and exit from a vehicle;
(5) the person is employed by a public or private utility company and is
engaged in the reading of meters or performing a similar duty for that
company requiring the operator to frequently enter into and exit from a
vehicle; or
(6) The person is operating a commercial vehicle registered as a farm
vehicle under the provisions of Section 502.163 that does not have a
gross weight, registered weight, or gross weight rating of 48,000 pounds
or more.
(f) The department shall develop and implement an educational program to
encourage the wearing of safety belts and to emphasize:
(1) the effectiveness of safety belts and other restraint devices in
reducing the risk of harm to passengers in motor vehicles; and
(2) the requirements of this section and the penalty for noncompliance.
(g) Repealed by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 204, § 8.01.
(h) In this section, "passenger vehicle," "safety belt," and "secured"
have the meanings assigned by Section 545.412.
(i) A judge, acting under Article 45.0511, Code of Criminal Procedure,
who elects to defer further proceedings and to place a defendant accused
of a violation of Subsection (b) on probation under that article, in lieu
of requiring the defendant to complete a driving safety course approved
by the Texas Education Agency, shall require the defendant to attend and
present proof that the defendant has successfully completed a specialized
driving safety course approved by the Texas Education Agency under the
Texas Driver and Traffic Safety Education Act (Article 4413(29c),
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) that includes four hours of instruction
that encourages the use of child passenger safety seat systems and the
wearing of seat belts and emphasizes:
(1) the effectiveness of child passenger safety seat systems and seat
belts in reducing the harm to children being transported in motor
vehicles; and
(2) the requirements of this section and the penalty for noncompliance.
(j) Notwithstanding Section 542.402(a), a municipality or county, at the
end of the municipality's or county's fiscal year, shall send to the
comptroller an amount equal to 50 percent of the fines collected by the
municipality or the county for violations of Subsection (b) of this
section. The comptroller shall deposit the amount received to the credit
of the tertiary care fund for use by trauma centers.
________________________________________
§ 547.701 TRANSP. Additional Equipment Requirements for School Buses and
Other Buses Used to Transport Schoolchildren
(a) A school bus shall be equipped with:
(1) a convex mirror or other device that reflects to the school bus
operator a clear view of the area immediately in front of the vehicle
that would otherwise be hidden from view; and
(2) signal lamps that:
(A) are mounted as high and as widely spaced laterally as practicable;
(B) display four alternately flashing red lights, two located on the
front at the same level and two located on the rear at the same level;
and
(C) emit a light visible at a distance of 500 feet in normal sunlight.
(b) A school bus may be equipped with:
(1) rooftop warning lamps:
(A) that conform to and are placed on the bus in accordance with
specifications adopted under Section 34.002, Education Code; and
(B) that are operated under rules adopted by the school district; and
(2) movable stop arms:
(A) that conform to regulations adopted under Section 34.002, Education
Code; and
(B) that may be operated only when the bus is stopped to load or unload
students.
(c) When a school bus is being stopped or is stopped on a highway to
permit students to board or exit the bus, the operator of the bus shall
activate all flashing warning signal lights and other equipment on the
bus designed to warn other drivers that the bus is stopping to load or
unload children. A person may not operate such a light or other equipment
except when the bus is being stopped or is stopped on a highway to permit
students to board or exit the bus.
(d) The exterior of a school bus may not bear advertising or another
paid announcement directed at the public if the advertising or
announcement distracts from the effectiveness of required safety warning
equipment. The department shall adopt rules to implement this
subsection. A school bus that violates this section or rules adopted
under this section shall be placed out of service until it complies.
(e) In this subsection, "bus" includes a school bus and a school
activity bus. A bus operated by or contracted for use by a school
district for the transportation of schoolchildren shall be equipped with
a three-point seat belt for each passenger, including the operator. This
subsection applies to:
(1) each bus purchased by a school district on or after September 1,
2010, for the transportation of schoolchildren; and
(2) each school-chartered bus contracted for use by a school district on
or after September 1, 2011, for the transportation of schoolchildren.
§ 547.352 TRANSP. Additional Lighting Equipment Requirements
In addition to other equipment required by this chapter:
(1) a bus, truck, trailer, or semitrailer that is at least 80
inches wide shall be equipped with:
(A) two clearance lamps on the front, one at each side;
(B) two clearance lamps on the rear, one at each side;
(C) four side marker lamps, one on each side at or near the
front and one on each side at or near the rear;
(D) four reflectors, one on each side at or near the front
and one on each side at or near the rear; and
(E) hazard lamps that meet the requirements of
Section 547.331;
(2) a bus or truck that is at least 30 feet long shall be equipped
with hazard lamps that meet the requirements of Section 547.331;
(3) a trailer or semitrailer that is at least 30 feet long shall be
equipped with:
(A) two side marker lamps, one centrally mounted on each side with
respect to the length of the vehicle;
(B) two reflectors, one centrally mounted on each side with
respect to the length of the vehicle; and
(C) hazard lamps that meet the requirements of
Section 547.331;
(4) a pole trailer shall be equipped with:
(A) two side marker lamps, one at each side at or near the
front of the load;
(B) one reflector at or near the front of the load;
(C) one combination marker lamp that:
(i) emits an amber light to the front and a red light to
the rear and side; and
(ii) is mounted on the rearmost support for the load to indicate
the maximum width of the trailer; and
(D) hazard lamps that meet the requirements of
Section 547.331, if the pole trailer is at least 30 feet long or at
least 80 inches wide;
(5) a truck-tractor shall be equipped with:
(A) two clearance lamps, one at each side on the front of the cab;
and
(B) hazard lamps that meet the requirements of
Section 547.331, if the truck-tractor is at least 30 feet long or at
least 80 inches wide; and
(6) a vehicle at least 80 inches wide may be equipped with:
(A) not more than three front identification lamps without
glare; and
(B) not more than three rear identification lamps without glare.
