Legal Question in Employment Law in Rhode Island

I am a truck driver who has recently been involved in two accidents and has possibly had to unfairly brunt more than my fair share of the consequences. I would be grateful for your opinion of whether or not I have an argument against New England Motor Freight, the company for whom I was driving.

The accidents happened on 2/6/11 and 2/8/11. Both were caused by ice. I was not cited or found at fault in either one. The only other vehicle that was involved in both was a car that spun out ahead of me on the highway on 2/6. I was able to avoid the car, but was unable to keep my tractor trailer under control on the black ice. The second incident occurred when I came to the top of a hill that was covered in ice. The ice was covered by a thin layer of snow making it look the same as the packed snow on which I had been driving while climbing the hill. My tractor�s drive tires lost traction causing it to slow down. The trailer did not slow down, however, and it pushed the tractor out of control onto the ice. Thankfully there was no other vehicle involved. I did have a witness who was in a car behind me who verified that I was not speeding and was not at fault.

The first concern is that I should not have been driving so soon after the first accident. I did not realize it at the time, but I learned later that it is protocol for a driver to be suspended after an accident until an investigation can be made. I did have a slight concussion from the 2/6 accident. I did have it checked out and was cleared by my health clinic to return to work. When I did return to work, I notified my supervisor that I had gotten it checked out and was cleared. He seemed to have much more concern about getting the freight moved than about my wellbeing.

The second concern, which is much more urgent for me, is that I was not discharged immediately after the second accident. I was told by my union representative that I would be suspended for two weeks while an investigation was made. The second accident happened on a Tuesday morning. I collected workman�s compensation for a second concussion for the rest of that week.

I was physically cleared to return to work on Monday 2/14, but I did not due to the suspension. My vacation, which had been scheduled for several weeks, was the week of 2/21. I went in to talk to my manager on 2/25, at which time he notified me that I was being �discharged�. During that discussion he advised that if I resigned and did not challenge my discharge, I could file for unemployment. NEMF would not agree that I had been laid off. My letter of resignation was dated 3/1/11.

My most pressing question is do I have the right to sue for my vacation pay which was not made. I had neither resigned nor been notified that I was discharged until my scheduled vacation was over. The two week suspension, which is included in the union contract with the company, expired during my vacation.

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