Trucking companies that use independent contractors could be breathing a sigh of relief after the Department of Labor Wednesday withdrew an Obama-era guidance that some viewed as an attack on the owner-operator model used in trucking.
Source: DOL Withdraws Controversial Obama-Era Independent Contractor Guidance
The Department announced the withdrawal of its informal guidance (“Administrator’s Interpretations”) on the issues of joint employment and independent contractors in 2015 and 2016 memos authored and issued under the former administration’s Wage and Hour Division Administrator, David Weil.
This withdrawal has no effect on the legal obligations of employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The announcement of this withdrawal signals a return to a less overtly employment-favored standard or test, and suggests the Department’s general direction toward reliance on the rule of law.
This departure from these informal guidance memos also signals less emphasis on the singular issue of exclusivity in the relationship between an independent contractor and transportation company, which appeared to be the cornerstone of these Administrator’s Interpretations. It remains to be seen how many states will follow suit.
“Cargo theft hasn’t necessarily gotten worse lately, but there is more sophistication on the criminal side than 20 years ago when it was strictly a crime of opportunity,” says Eric Fuller, CEO of U.S. Xpress. But there is much motor carriers can do to help protect customers’ goods and their own assets and employees from heists.
Source: Six Steps to Thwart Cargo Theft
Court rules that orientation is part of the application process and not necessarily compensable. Further, drivers in a sleeper berth are using adequate facilities for rest.
Former drivers for a motor carrier sued the company claiming they had not been paid for the time they spent in orientation and the time they spent in the sleeper berth of a moving truck. The trial court found in favor of the motor carrier on both claims, the Ninth Circuit affirmed.
The court concluded that the orientation was an application process because not all participants were hired upon completion. The court also agreed with the motor carrier that sleeper berth time was not compensable based on a federal regulation clarifying that truck drivers or assistants are not working when riding in a truck if they are “permitted to sleep in adequate facilities furnished by the employer.”
FMCSA has announced that it is requesting approval to extend its information collection regarding “Accident Recordkeeping Requirements.”
The information collection request relates to FMCSA requirements that motor carriers maintain a record of accidents involving their commercial motor vehicles.
Motor carriers are not required to report this data to FMCSA, but must produce it upon inquiry by authorized Federal, State or local officials.
