OTA Dispatch Issue 3 2019

32 Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch OREGON WORKERS’ COMPENSATION law exempts many truck drivers who own or lease the motor vehicle equipment they drive from workers’ compensation coverage. To be exempt from coverage, the driver must have an ownership or leasehold interest in equipment, and the driver must furnish, operate, and maintain the equipment. A recent Workers’ Compensation Board case may have changed that for drivers who lease the equipment they drive. The Board held that the injured driver of a tractor truck leased from a trucking company was not exempt from coverage by workers’ compensation insurance. The driver in the Board decision leased the truck from a carrier under an agreement that he was an independent contractor, would be paid by the mile, and would be charged back for the truck’s lease and its maintenance. Under the lease, the driver had full possession of and responsibility for the truck, but no ownership interest in it. Following an accident, the driver filed a claim with SAIF for his injuries. SAIF denied the Workers’ Compensation Board Decision Raises Questions About Compensability of Drivers Under a Lease By Julie Masters, SAIF Corporation To be exempt from workers’ compensation coverage, the driver must have an ownership or leasehold interest in equipment, and the driver must furnish, operate, and maintain the equipment. A recent Workers’ Compensation Board case may have changed that for drivers who lease the equipment they drive.