1 There is now a vacancy
on the three-member Board. However, Sections 5 and 7 of Secretary of Labor's Order No. 2-96, 61
Fed. Reg. 19,979, May 3, 1996, authorize the two remaining Members to render a decision on the basis
of majority vote.
2 Beveridge's case
is predicated solely on this provision. T. 19-26, 35-38; Beveridge's Brief to the Administrative Law
Judge, final argument, separately numbered at 1. See Yellow Freight System, Inc. v. Martin,
954 F.2d 353, 357-59 (6th Cir. 1992) (due process precludes decision on STAA provisions not actually
tried); Cook v. Kidimula International, Inc., Case No. 95-STA-44, Sec. Fin. Dec. and Ord.
of Dism., Mar. 12, 1996, slip op. at 2 n.2 (since case concerned only the STAA at 49 U.S.C.
§31105(a)(1)(B)(i), ALJ's rulings under other STAA employee protection provisions were
irrelevant).
3 Beveridge had
previously shorted his loads on March 26 and 27, 1996, T. 9-10, 26, and Waste Stream docked his pay
as a result, T. 27, 30, 106-07. According to Thomas Jarrard, General Manager of Operations,
Beveridge was advised that "in the event that a situation did occur where he felt that he needed
to lower the weights, he needed to contact [Transportation Manager] Pam [Trevett] . . . so that the issue
could be discussed." T. 84. Although in this instance his tractor registration had actually expired,
Waste Stream had contacted the New York State Department of Transportation and was told to continue
to operate the vehicle because the agency was having an administrative backlog problem and vehicle
registrations had not been sent to various trucking companies. T. 87-88.
4 Since this case was
fully tried on the merits, whether Beveridge made a prima facie showing, R. D. and O.
at 3, is irrelevant. U.S. Postal Service Bd. of Govs. v. Aikens, 460 U.S. 711, 715 (1983);
Andreae v. Dry Ice, Inc., ARB Fin. Dec. and Ord., July 17, 1997, slip op. at 2;
Logan v. United Parcel Service, ARB Case No. 96-190, ALJ Case No. 96-STA-2, ARB
Fin. Dec. and Ord. of Dism., Dec. 19, 1996, slip op. at 3. n. 4.
5 Although the ALJ
did not clearly articulate the nexus between the STAA and state motor vehicle law, R. D. and O. at 3-5,
the correlation of the two is implicitly shown at R. D. and O. at 4.
Every commercial motor vehicle must be operated in
accordance with the laws, ordinances, and regulations of the
jurisdiction in which it is being operated. However, if a
regulation of the Federal Highway Administration imposes a
higher standard of care than that law, ordinance or regulation,
the Federal Highway Administration regulation must be
complied with.
49 C.F.R. §392.2.
7 It is unclear when
Waste Stream received the registration from the State, T. 100, but General Manager Jarrard speculated
that it would have been received by December 30, T. 106. In any event, if Beveridge had contacted
Waste Stream, it could have verified the status of the registration for him.
8 Under Vehicle and
Traffic Law §401(19-a), the ticket or summons is issued to the registrant of the vehicle.