[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 33 (Friday, February 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12411-12413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03205]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0143]


Request for Information: Drivers' Leasing Agreements for 
Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs)

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department 
of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA requests information from the public, including 
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers, to assist the Agency's Truck 
Leasing Task Force (TLTF) in reviewing such leases to identify terms 
and conditions that may be unfair to drivers. The Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act, (IIJA), or Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 
(BIL), requires the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with 
the Secretary of Labor, to establish TLTF to examine the terms, 
conditions, and equitability of common truck leasing arrangements, 
particularly as they impact owner-operators and trucking businesses 
subject to such agreements. TLTF will examine these issues and submit a 
report to the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Labor, and 
Congress on the TLTF's identified issues and conclusions regarding 
truck leasing arrangements, including recommended best practices. 
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be shared with the 
TLTF prior to its next public meeting.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 18, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket Number FMCSA-
2023-0143 using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FMCSA-2023-0143/document. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Dockets Operations, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Dockets Operations, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-
140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
     Submissions Containing Confidential Business Information 
(CBI): Brian Dahlin, Chief, Regulatory Evaluation Division, Federal 
Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590.
    To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods. 
See the ``Confidential Business Information'' portion of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for instructions on submitting 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannon L. Watson, Senior Advisor to 
the Associate Administrator for Policy and Deputy Designated Federal 
Officer, Truck Leasing Task Force (TLTF), Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; 
(202) 360-2925; [email protected]. If you have questions on viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, contact Dockets Operations, (202) 
366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
request for information (RFI) (FMCSA-2023-0143), indicate the specific 
section of this document to which your comment applies, and provide a 
reason for each suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your 
comments and material online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but 
please use only one of these means. FMCSA recommends that you include 
your name and a mailing address, an email address, or a phone

[[Page 12412]]

number in the body of your document so that FMCSA can contact you if 
there are questions regarding your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FMCSA-2023-0143/document, click on this RFI, click ``Comment,'' 
and type your comment into the text box on the following screen.
    If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them 
in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. FMCSA will consider all comments and 
material received during the comment period.

Confidential Business Information (CBI)

    CBI is commercial or financial information that is both customarily 
and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the Freedom of 
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public disclosure. 
If your comments responsive to the RFI contain commercial or financial 
information that is customarily treated as private, that you actually 
treat as private, it is important that you clearly designate the 
submitted comments as CBI. Please mark each page of your submission 
that constitutes CBI as ``PROPIN'' to indicate it contains proprietary 
information. FMCSA will treat such marked submissions as confidential 
under the Freedom of Information Act, and they will not be placed in 
the public docket of the RFI. Submissions containing CBI should be sent 
to Brian Dahlin, Chief, Regulatory Analysis Division, Office of Policy, 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001. Any comments FMCSA receives not specifically 
designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket.

B. Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as any documents mentioned in this RFI as 
being available in the docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FMCSA-2023-0143/document and choose the document to review. To 
view comments, click this RFI, and click ``Browse Comments.'' If you do 
not have access to the internet, you may view the docket online by 
visiting Dockets Operations on the ground floor of the DOT West 
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be 
sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 366-9317 or (202) 
366-9826 before visiting Dockets Operations.

C. Privacy Act

    DOT posts comments received, including any personal information the 
commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system 
of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.transportation.gov/privacy. The comments are posted without edit 
and are searchable by the name of the submitter.

I. Background

    Congress established the TLTF as a statutory committee under the 
authority of section 23009 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 
Act (IIJA), Public Law 117-58 (2021). The TLTF is a Federal advisory 
committee established in accordance with the provisions of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. app. 2. TLTF is tasked 
with examining and reviewing the terms, conditions, and equitability of 
common truck leasing arrangements, particularly as they impact owner-
operators and trucking businesses subject to such agreements. 
Consistent with the above statutory authority, TLTF will also examine 
financing arrangements among motor carriers, entry-level drivers, 
driver training providers, and other involved entities, which may 
result in new drivers entering the trucking workforce encumbered by 
outsized debt and inequitable terms for repayment and will identify 
potential illegal practices to law enforcement or regulators, as 
appropriate. The Task Force will provide advice and recommendations to 
the Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Labor through the 
Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 
(FMCSA) or their designee. For more information about TLTF, please 
visit https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/tltf.
    During the TLTF's public meeting on January 18, 2024, TLTF members 
identified questions they would like to ask CMV drivers who may have 
been subject to inequitable or predatory terms, as well as questions 
for drivers who have had positive CMV leasing experiences and what 
separated the good from the bad experiences.

II. Request for Public Comments

    FMCSA requests information from the public about leasing 
arrangements they have personally experienced or of which they have 
knowledge. FMCSA is particularly interested in hearing from CMV 
drivers, lessors of CMVs, trucker organizations, social services 
organizations, consumer rights and advocacy organizations, plaintiffs' 
attorneys, academics and researchers, representatives of labor 
organizations, and state and local government officials. The list of 
questions provided below are examples of the information the TLTF would 
find helpful in completing its work. Commenters are not required to 
answer every question and commenters should not view the list as a 
constraint on sharing information with the Agency and its TLTF.
    In addition to providing the information to the TLTF members, as 
mentioned above, FMCSA will share the information with the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a U.S. government agency dedicated 
to making sure consumers are treated fairly by banks, lenders, and 
other financial institutions. The DOT has named the CFPB as a technical 
advisor to the TLTF. Please note that because the information is being 
submitted to a public docket accessible to all interested parties, 
individuals should redact personally identifiable information (PII), 
such as social security numbers, driver's license number, personal 
address, etc.

Lessees of CMVs

    1. If you signed a lease-purchase agreement for a CMV, could you 
provide copies of leasing documents and copies of documents for all 
other financial products associated with your work as a CMV lessee 
(i.e., training debt, maintenance debt, earned wage access, contact 
from debt collectors, etc.)?
    2. What were the actual terms of the lease (e.g., minimum weekly or 
monthly payments and their structure, start and completion dates, make/
model/year of the truck, depreciation and amortization, mileage at the 
start and conclusion of the lease, maintenance responsibilities, etc.)? 
Was the lease-purchase agreement held by a carrier or a third-party 
entity?
    3. How was the lease-purchase agreement marketed to you? What were 
you told about the value of the truck and what earnings and work 
conditions you could expect? Were you evaluated for likelihood of 
repayment, through a credit or background check or some other method? 
What options existed for you to obtain the truck besides leasing it? 
Did other drivers have a different set of options? If so, why?
    4. What did you understand, or not understand, about the terms and 
conditions to which you agreed? These terms may include the history, 
condition, and maintenance needs of the truck you leased. Prior to 
signing your lease-purchase agreement, did you have time to read and 
understand the leasing contract? Did you know the cost of credit (e.g., 
interest rate or rent

[[Page 12413]]

charge) before signing the lease purchase agreement? Did you have a 
clear picture of your responsibility in the case of a major mechanical 
breakdown of the CMV?
    5. Were you able to negotiate the terms? Were you provided any 
information about other financing alternatives? Did other drivers have 
a different set of options and if so, why?
    6. Were you informed of how the motor carrier works with 
independent contractors vs. company drivers and lease-purchase drivers 
when business is slow? Are you treated similarly or is there a 
difference between the assignment of loads, etc.?
    7. Please elaborate on any additional restrictions placed on your 
use of the CMV or additional financial agreements imposed outside of 
the written lease agreement. Did they encompass take-home pay, driver 
access to loads, etc.?
    8. Please elaborate on any additional financial products associated 
with your work as a CMV lessee (e.g., training debt, maintenance debt, 
earned wage access, contact from debt collectors, etc.). For instance, 
if you took out maintenance debt, were you required to use the title of 
your CMV as security?
    9. Were you able to successfully complete the terms of your lease-
purchase agreement? If you did not complete your lease, why? How much 
did you owe at the completion of your lease? Were any charges assessed 
related solely to your lease payment or were there other charges, such 
as repayment of a maintenance bill or loan? If there were other 
charges, please explain.
    10. If you owe a balance on your lease-purchase agreement, are you 
being contacted by the motor carrier, third-party debt collectors, or 
finance companies? Are there processes, policies, and procedures for 
taking and handling disputes about the debt? Has information about your 
debt been furnished to credit reporting companies or employment 
screening companies? Have you been threatened with a lawsuit to collect 
these debts? Do collection efforts cease when a driver files for 
bankruptcy or obtains bankruptcy discharge?
    11. How did your expectations about the benefits of the lease 
compare to the reality of working under that lease? What have the 
effects of your lease-purchase agreement been on your finances, 
employment experience, professional mobility, workplace health and 
safety, and family's well-being?

Lessors of CMVs

    1. If you are or were a lessor of CMVs, what best practices do, or 
did you implement or recommend to ensure that all leases of CMVs you 
provide are fair and just? Do you underwrite leases? If so, how? How do 
you determine the value of a CMV and the expected depreciation? If your 
lessees are pleased with the terms you provide, please expound on those 
terms.
    2. If you lease CMVs to drivers but do not own the CMV (e.g., the 
CMV is being financed by your company and then you lease it to a 
driver), how do you determine how much to charge the driver under the 
lease agreement and how do you ensure the driver can ultimately own the 
vehicle if there is a lease-purchase agreement?
    3. Do you have any specific agreements available to drayage drivers 
at ports relating to the Clean Truck Program or any similar program to 
decrease emissions from port operations? Do you have any data that 
would show the impact of truck leasing agreements on the net 
compensation of CMV drivers, including port drayage drivers?

Sue Lawless,
Acting Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2024-03205 Filed 2-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P