![]() "The DOL is using opinion letters to target hot litigation topics and aiming at hotbeds for collective actions."įor instance, the department recently addressed the controversial issue of whether gig-economy workers are independent contractors or employees. "The trend we are seeing is really fascinating," Heller said. In 2010, President Barack Obama's administration announced that it would cease issuing opinion letters, but the practice was revived under President Donald Trump in 2018. Issues regarding on-duty and off-duty time are not limited to the trucking industry. "In so concluding, the DOL resolved an apparent discrepancy in the federal regulations, which some courts have relied upon to find that such nonworking time may be compensable," Roginson said.Īlthough the letter targets a specific industry, it could have broad reach, Schreter noted. ![]() The DOL said the employer would satisfy the FLSA by paying the driver at least minimum wage for the 55 hours spent working, and that the driver's time spent in the sleeping berth was not compensable. The driver didn't perform any work and was not on call during the time spent sleeping. ![]() The driver also spent around 50 hours off duty in the sleeper berth. ![]() In the situation addressed in the DOL's most recent opinion letter, the truck driver spent about 55 hours a week on tasks such as driving, cleaning and fueling the truck, and completing paperwork. An employee is "engaged to wait" for more work when "waiting is an integral part of the job" and waiting times are short or unpredictable, such as when a driver is waiting for goods to be loaded on the truck. "he time drivers are relieved of all duties and permitted to sleep in a sleeper berth is presumptively nonworking time that is not compensable," the letter read.īut there's a difference between on-duty sleeping time when an employee is "engaged to wait" for more work and uninterrupted off-duty time when an employee is "waiting to be engaged," the letter said. In the new opinion letter, the DOL said the prior guidance was "unnecessarily burdensome" for employers, so the department adopted a "straightforward reading" of the FLSA. Drivers should be paid for sleeping time during trips lasting less than 24 hours.Up to eight hours of sleeping time could be unpaid for a trip of at least 24 hours.A driver's sleeping time may be unpaid if "adequate facilities" are furnished.Previously, the department's Wage and Hour Division said: In the most recent letter, the DOL abandoned its former guidance on whether drivers' sleeping time is compensable. So opinion letters can help ensure that stakeholders have the information they need to comply with laws and regulations. "There are lots of questions that come up," Schreter added. "It's very egalitarian," she said, noting that anyone can ask the DOL for an opinion letter, including employees, employers, attorneys and unions. Lee Schreter, an attorney with Littler in Atlanta, said she's a fan of the opinion letter process. Employers and HR professionals can refer to the opinion letters, he said, but they should remember that opinion letters show only that the DOL supports a certain position, and the courts will still ultimately decide the rule of law. Opinion letters serve as informal guidance and are not binding, but employers that rely on them can at least show that they are following the DOL's position.Ĭourts may defer to such guidance if it's supported by well-established reasoning, explained Marty Heller, an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Atlanta. The letter is specific to the trucking industry, he noted, but it indicates the DOL's intention to clarify federal wage and hour laws to reduce burdensome interpretations that aren't clearly supported by the law and regulations. The letter provides much-needed clarity for the trucking industry, said Bob Roginson, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Los Angeles. Department of Labor (DOL).Īlthough the letter applies to a specific employer's facts, it highlights the department's continuing effort to address hot topics under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Employers don't have to pay long-haul truck drivers for time they spend in a truck's sleeping berth, so as the drivers are relieved of all duties, according to the latest opinion letter from the U.S.
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