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As compensation, petitioner received 75 percent of the total
amount paid to Ohio Transport by its customers for each load
hauled by a leased truck.8
The leases required Ohio Transport to provide liability
insurance for petitioner’s trucks while they were “under
dispatch”.9 Otherwise petitioner provided the insurance. If a
driver intentionally damaged a truck or its cargo, he or she was
responsible for the damage, to the extent it was not insured.
B. Relationship Between Petitioner and Drivers
Petitioner entered into an agreement (agreement) with each
of its drivers during the periods at issue which expressly
provided that the drivers were independent contractors and not
employees. The agreement, in pertinent part, stated:
8 During the periods at issue, petitioner and Ohio Trucking
also had an oral agency agreement by which petitioner was paid a
9-percent agency fee on all loads it solicited from customers on
behalf of Ohio Transport. The 9-percent fee was over and above
the 75 percent Ohio Transport paid petitioner for each load
hauled under the leases. The drivers were paid no portion of the
separate 9-percent agency fee.
These loads were hauled by petitioner’s trucks or by
individuals who owned their own trucks (owner-operators). A
number of owner-operators hauled steel for Ohio Transport and
were dispatched by petitioner. The owner-operators’ employment
relationship with petitioner is not at issue in this case.
9 The term “under dispatch” means Ohio Transport had
contacted petitioner to haul a particular load, petitioner agreed
to haul the load, and the truck used to haul the load was: (1)
En route to pick up the load; (2) was picking up the load; (3)
was transporting the load; or (4) was returning to the location
where the truck was garaged having delivered the load.
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Last modified: November 10, 2007