No matter the loads, the routes, or the plans, most truck drivers will find themselves commonly working 60 to 70 hours a week and occasionally even more. Unfortunately, unlike nearly every other area of employment, truck drivers do not get overtime pay. For those looking to understand why truckers don’t get overtime, this guide serves as an explanation and offers some tips on those rare opportunities to get overtime.
Why Truckers Do Not Receive Overtime
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that employers pay an overtime rate of at least 1½ times their normal wages for hours worked over 40 in a week. However, there is an exception to this law. Section 213(b)(1) of the FLSA states that the overtime requirements do not apply to anyone the Secretary of Transportation establishes hours and qualifications for.
This exception means that because truck drivers are under the authority of the Secretary of Transportation, companies are not required to pay them overtime. This includes employees of carrier companies, as well as individual owner-operators.
Possible State Exemptions to the No Overtime Law
The Fair Labor Standards Act that requires overtime for most employees and not for truckers is a federal law. In 2010, the Appellate Court in New Jersey upheld a ruling by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. This ruling found that where the FLSA came into conflict with the state’s version of the overtime law, the version that was more favorable would overrule the other version.
In New Jersey, this allowed the truckers employed by the New Jersey Trucking Company to sue for back overtime pay; they won over $2 million. This has set a precedent that other states may follow when truckers ask for overtime pay.
Some states have already taken advantage of this ruling and created laws that require truck drivers to receive overtime pay. Other states have not created such laws. Truck drivers who work exclusively in one state need to find out what their state’s laws are regarding overtime coverage for commercial drivers.
Interstate Transport and Federal Law
While truckers who operate within a single state fall under that state’s laws, drivers who haul loads into other states fall under federal law. This means that the Fair Labor Standards Act and its motor carrier overtime exemption for truck drivers apply to them.
Truck drivers are also subject to the FLSA if they did not go out of state themselves but were part of a larger transportation chain that moved goods out of state or if the driver’s employer “could have called upon” the driver to take goods out of state.
Small Loads and Overtime
In 2008, the Technical Corrections Act modified the motor carrier exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act to apply only to trucks over a certain weight. Drivers of trucks with a combined weight (weight of the truck plus any trailer or other attachment) of 10,000 or more pounds are still exempt from overtime pay by federal law, but drivers who have trucks under a 10,000-pound combined weight are no longer exempt from overtime by the motor carrier exemption.
This means drivers of trucks under 10,000 pounds should receive overtime pay in accordance to the FLSA, whether they are engaged in interstate travel or not. However, the driver of such a truck could still be exempt from overtime under some other statute of the FLSA.
Non-Required Overtime
Trucking companies may not realize their drivers wish they received overtime pay. Sometimes trucking companies will offer to pay drivers some type of overtime to keep them happy or attract new drivers. Due to the recent shortage of truck drivers, we may see more carrier companies offering their employees overtime pay, even though the laws do not require them to offer it.
Other Benefits for Salaried Drivers
While drivers being paid by the hour (which is somewhat uncommon) are most certainly affected by the lack of paid overtime, many salaried drivers are partially compensated in other ways. Long-haul and over-the-road truckers often receive sleeper, layover, and inconvenience pay.
Sleeper pay is a type of hourly pay given to over-the-road drivers who are away from home for long periods. Basically, this means they receive their pay by the mile during the day and then an hourly payment for hours logged in their sleeper.
If drivers have to wait overnight for their trucks to be unloaded, they may receive layover pay. Drivers who have to wait long hours (but not overnight) to be unloaded may receive inconvenience pay as may those who experience breakdowns and are stuck for a long periods.
There is a disparity between what is fair overtime pay for most workers and what is fair for truck drivers. Unfortunately, truckers have to work to navigate the current laws so they can receive fair compensation. Hopefully, changes to the law will come sooner rather than later.
Changes to the federal law and the fact that state laws can overrule federal statutes should give truck drivers some hope that they may be eligible to receive overtime, at least in some instances. Drivers should learn their state’s overtime laws if they are only a part of intrastate transport. They should also be aware that if they are hauling lighter loads between states, they may be eligible for overtime. Perhaps in the future, overtime laws for truckers will be as beneficial and simple to understand as it is for most other employees.