Legal Question in Business Law in Arizona

Safe work enviorment

I drive a bus for Veolia in Mesa and I have a question regarding a policy they have. This site does not allow what is called a '' courtesy stop '' which is defined as not allowing a person on or off a bus unless it is at the bus stop. We are the only site that has this policy and all other site managed across the valley ( most managed by Veolia ) allow courtesy stops. This causes passengers to react in a violent manner when I try to explain I am not allowed to let them out until I reach the location of the bus stop. This only happens because all other bus yards allow their drivers the ability to do courtesy stops ( usually let passengers out at a red light to catch a connecting bus ). Is it possible to file a legal action against Veolia and the RPTA for allowing one company to have a policy in place that no other company has that causes such an unsafe working environment for the bus driver? Just yesterday I had a group of passengers miss a connecting bus and in their own words after I explained I could not let them off the bus at the red light they yelled at me that all the other drivers do it. I have been threatened for not doing courtesy stops many times on my bus and I do not want to lose my job getting caught doing them.


Asked on 5/08/08, 12:06 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
James Jenkins Jenkins Law Center PLC

Re: Safe work enviorment

This is not a business law question, but a labor/employment law question. You might want to re-submit under that category. Nevertheless, I will take a stab at it.

The "no courtesy stop" policy will probably be said by your employer to be a safety issue, and to avoid liability. Therefore, I do not see that you have any cause of action to sue your employer or make a claim. It would seem that the "unsafe" environment you complain about, having dissapointed riders who might get upset, could be avoided by informing riders when they board that you are not allowed on this bus to make stops at any location other than regular bus stops and for the riders to made their stop plans accordingly, and that you do not want to lose your job so cannot make an exception. That would defuse the situation, and allow them to plan their departure.

Check with an employment attorney or re-submit your question under labor law. Good luck.

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Answered on 5/08/08, 12:21 pm


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