Federal funding for trucking schools can be a patchwork. Some schools are eligible for Title IV federal student aid, receiving at least $4 million in federal loans and $500,000 in Pell grants in 2015-16, according to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher and vice president of strategy for Cappex.com, a free website about college admissions and financial aid. Beyond the Department of Education, some Workforce Investment Act funds have flowed into trucking schools. CRST has received at least $700,000 in such funds, designed to aid in retraining for a job, according to federally mandated disclosures from the U.S. Economic Development Authority. The U.S. Department of Transportation spent $48 million in 2013 and 2014 on training and education.
In cases like Jim Simpson’s, in which the trucking company and not the government administers the loan, workers have fewer protections against harsh repayment terms and high interest rates. Such a loan is within the purview of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Unsatisfied borrowers may also consider filing a report with a state attorney general, Kantrowitz said. Otherwise they are left with little recourse in negotiating repayment terms.
“Unfortunately, even if you don’t read the fine print, you’re still subject to it,” he said.
Last year, C.R. England, another trucking company that offers training, was ordered by a federal judge in Utah to pay $2.35 million to settle a class-action suit brought on behalf of 6,300 drivers that alleged, among other things, that they weren’t properly reimbursed for tuition costs. The company faces another wage-and-hour class action, which has received class certification, alleging that it induced job applicants to enroll in its trucking school with false promises of a guaranteed job.
T.J. England, chief legal officer, said the allegations are false and that through the company's program "many people with virtually no education or training can have a solid middle-class job in a couple of weeks at no cost to them, with a commitment to work for nine to 12 months," and have the commercial driver’s license for the rest of their careers.
Giselle Schuetz, a lawyer representing the women in the sexual harassment suit against CRST, said, “A lot of the students who come in have little in the amount of worldly possessions, and they sign these contracts that are incredibly complicated. One of the first things our clients tell us is: I had this debt. I just wanted to get it done, no matter what.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.