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Office
Washington D.C.
4601 North Fairfax Drive, Ste 720
Arlington, VA 22203
Prasad Sharma, Partner
Practice Concentration
Mr. Sharma focuses his practice on advocacy before state and federal legislative and regulatory bodies and advises on a wide array of regulatory compliance issues. He leads from the firm’s Washington D.C. office on legislative support initiatives and provides a legal liaison function to firm clients seeking transportation and logistics industry national and state association outreach and issue-specific coordination of desired legislative outcomes.
Profile
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Sharma spent fifteen years as in-house counsel at American Trucking Associations, Inc., where he spent his last four years as senior vice president and general counsel, as well as executive vice president and general counsel to the ATA Litigation Center. Mr. Sharma was actively involved in crafting numerous pieces of legislation at the federal level and notably crafted the motor carrier anti-indemnification legislation that has been enacted by nearly 40 states. Mr. Sharma has frequently spoken on independent contractor issues, motor carrier regulations, and legislative developments. Before going to law school, Mr. Sharma worked for Senator Bob Dole (KS), assisting on foreign policy, trade, and defense issues.
On The Road
- Advocacy Committee Panel
Aug 5, 2019, Prasad Sharma, National Home Delivery Association’s 2019 Forum - Denver, CO - Safety Oversight, Telematics and Balancing Safety and Control
May 21, 2019, Prasad Sharma, American Trucking Association (ATA) Webinar SeriesAs many motor carriers have experienced, working with independent contractors and managing telematic tools like electronic logging devices (ELDs) presents many challenges. This webinar duided motor carriers in the implementation of telematics and other safety-related devices in an independent contractor fleet. Topics covered included:
- What to do when the mandated use of telematic and safety related devices run afoul of the federal leasing regulations
- What control a motor carrier may assert while still avoiding misclassification claims
- How safety incentives may be utilized to encourage adoption
Additionally, efforts to enact legislation that protect Independent Contractor status while encouraging adoption of safety-related devices were reviewed and discussed. - Arbitration Hits the Skids: Unpacking the New Prime Opinion and What it Means for Arbitration with Owner-Operators
Jan 28, 2019, Prasad Sharma, Scopelitis Webinar Series - Updates on Owner-Operator and Independent Contractor Issues
Jul 15, 2018, Prasad Sharma, American Trucking Associations General Counsel Forum - Santa Ana Pueblo, NM - Independent Contractor Status in 2017
Jul 17, 2017, Prasad Sharma, American Trucking Associations' Forum for Motor Carrier General Counsel - Beaver Creek, CO - Legislative Impact of the New Administration
Apr 20, 2017, Prasad Sharma, Scopelitis Webinar Series
Publications
- Transportation Brief: California Takes Aim at Mandatory ArbitrationThe Governor of California recently signed into law AB 51. Read more about how the new law impacts transportation businesses and what you should do now that AB 51 is law.
- Transportation Brief: Spotlight on Independent Contractor Legislative CounselAs California AB 5 made clear, state-level changes to independent contractor (IC) status can significantly change the business operations of a motor carrier in any given state and can have a domino effect on operations even beyond the borders of that state. Read more about how Scopelitis' IC legislative counsel practice regularly assists clients, state associations, industry associations, and coalitions with monitoring recent legislative activity that could impact IC status.
- Transportation Brief: DispatchesTransportation Industry News & Trends
- Scopelitis in the News: "Perspective: Putting Safety Above ‘Misclassification.'" July 8, 2019. Transport Topics.An op-ed written by Washington, D.C.-based Scopelitis Partner Prasad Sharma on a recent effort in a state legislature that threatens to impede progress in trucking safety.
- Scopelitis Legislative News - June 2019Legislative updates from Scopelitis including FY 2020 Transportation Appropriation, infrastructure spending, autonomous vehicles, and portable benefit models and independent contractor status.
- Transportation Brief: Supreme Court Weighs in on Arbitration with Owner-OperatorsAt issue in New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira, decided on January 15, 2019, was whether Mr. Oliveira—who personally drove a lease-purchase truck—was exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) because he had a “contract of employment.” The answer would determine whether Prime could invoke the FAA to enforce an arbitration agreement Mr. Oliveira had agreed to.
- Scopelitis Legislative News - March 2019Updates from Scopelitis' Legislative Services team.
- Law Alert: U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Declares Owner-Operators Exempt from the Federal Arbitration ActRead more from Scopelitis on the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira.
- Scopelitis in the News: "Infrastructure, Trade Loom Large for Trucking in the New Year." January 4, 2019. Transport Topics.Scopelitis Partner Prasad Sharma in Transport Topics on the DRIVE-Safe Act and infrastructure.
- Scopelitis Legislative News - December 2018Trends covered in this issue:
• Midterm Election Shifts
• Infrastructure Funding on the State Level
• Portable Benefits Model for Independent Contractors
• Upcoming DOT Funding
• Will Divided Congress be Productive?
• FMCSA Signals Aggressive Timeline - Law Alert: Sears Files for BankruptcyRead more on the Sears Holding Corporation and almost 50 related companies, including both Kmart and Innovel Solutions (collectively “Sears”), having filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy court.
- Law Alert: U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in New PrimeRead more on the oral argument in New Prime, Inc v. Oliveira a case primarily about whether trucking independent contractors are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).
- Video Law Alert: New Prime Oral Argument PreviewRead a preview of next week’s oral argument in a trucking case pending before the United States Supreme Court that will significantly impact the use of arbitration to resolve disputes with owner-operators.
- Law Alert: California’s Meal and Rest Break Requirements PreemptedRead more on California Meal and Rest Break Laws Preempted With Respect To Hazmat Drivers.
- Scopelitis in the News: "Supreme Court Turns Aside J.B. Hunt on Truck Driver Suit." June 8, 2018, Wall Street Journal.Scopelitis Partner Prasad Sharma quoted in WSJ on the U.S. Supreme Court turning aside J.B. Hunt Transport Inc.’s appeal of a court ruling allowing a class-action case seeking enforcement of California rules on wages, rest breaks for drivers the class-action suit to move ahead.
- Scopelitis Legislative News - October 2017Trends covered in this issue:
• States Prepare for 2018 Sessions
• The Emerging Economy Continues to Impact Legislatures
• IC Certification Procedures on the Rise?
• Appropriations for the Department of Transportation Advances in the House
• FMCSA Administrator Nomination Announced
• Joint Employer Clarification Bill Advances
• Autonomous Vehicle Bills Advance - Scopelitis Legislative News - June 2017This newsletter includes a sampling of noteworthy developments or trends affecting transportation in Congress or the state legislatures during the last two months.Trends covered in this issue:• Scopelitis Law Alert: U.S. DOL Announces Withdrawal of Joint Employment, Independent Contractor Informal Guidance
• States Seek Infrastructure Funding
• Lowering Roadblocks to Platooning
• States React to Gig Economy
• FY 2018 Presidential Budget
• DOT Personnel Changes
• Regulatory Reform
• Tax Reform
• FMCSA Withdraws Minimum Insurance Limits Rulemaking
• Entry-Level Driver Training Rule
• FMCSA Split-Sleeper Berth Pilot
• Rescission of USDOL Persuader Rule Submitted to OMB - Scopelitis Legislative News - March 2017This newsletter is an overview of noteworthy developments or trends affecting transportation in Congress or the state legislatures so far in 2017.
Trends covered included in this newsletter:• National Carrier Hiring Standard
• Regulatory Reform
• Class Action Reform
• 2018 Presidential Budget
• States Seek Infrastructure Funding
• Lowering Roadblocks to Platooning - Transportation Brief: First Circuit Deals Blow to Hair-TestingOn December 28, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit dealt a setback to the Boston Police Department’s hair-testing program used to assess an individual’s prior use of banned drugs. Jones v. City of Boston, No. 15-2015 (1st Cir. 2016). The decision may impact the potential use of hair testing programs in the trucking industry in lieu of currently prescribed pre-employment urine-testing.
- Scopelitis in the News: "Trucker Rest Break, Other Rules In Trouble After Trump Move." March 9, 2017, Law360Scopelitis Partner Prasad Sharma talks with Law360 about updates to federal rules governing trucking.