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Eighth Circuit Clarifies Overtime Eligibility Standard for Light-truck Drivers that Relies on Truck Size
Practical Law Legal Update 2-536-4206 (Approx. 3 pages)
Eighth Circuit Clarifies Overtime Eligibility Standard for Light-truck Drivers that Relies on Truck Size
by Practical Law Labor & Employment
| Published on 09 Aug 2013 • USA (National/Federal) |
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held in McCall v. Disabled American Veterans that gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) rather than actual vehicle weight is the correct measure to use when determining whether a driver of a commercial vehicle is exempt under the Motor Carrier Act's exemption (MCAE) to the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) overtime provisions. The Eighth Circuit deferred to a Department of Labor (DOL) bulletin selecting the GVWR, the weight a truck is rated to carry, rather than a vehicle's actual weight when deciding whether the vehicle is a motor vehicle weighing 10,000 pounds or less and the employee is eligible for overtime pay under the Motor Carrier Act, as modified by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU) Technical Corrections Act (TCA).
McCall was a salaried employee who never received overtime pay when his hours exceeded 40 hours per week. He alleged that he was eligible for, and was owed overtime pay because the truck he drove weighed less than 10,001 pounds, the statutory threshold for applying the Motor Carrier Exemption (MCAE) to the FLSA overtime provisions.
In a July 31, 2013 opinion, the Eighth Circuit:
- Noted that:
- under the MCAE, the FLSA overtime provisions do not apply to employees of motor private carriers for whom the Secretary of Transportation can set qualifications and maximum service hours;
- under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU) as modified by the Technical Corrections Act (TCA) the MCAE exempts from the FLSA overtime requirements employees who operate a motor vehicle weighing 10,001 or more pounds. FLSA overtime requirements apply to drivers of light-trucks weighing 10,000 pounds or less;
- the Department of Labor (DOL) uses a vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVHR), the weight a truck is rated to carry, rather than a vehicle's actual weight because the former would be objective, predictable and not dependent on the varying weights of any attached trailers; and
- the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the only circuit to consider what measure of vehicle weight should be used when applying the SAFETEA-LU as modified by the TCA, deferred to the DOL's interpretation and uses the GVWR of a truck to determine whether its driver is exempt from overtime. The court noted that employers would face uncertainty and burdensome recordkeeping as a driver driving the same truck could be exempt or non-exempt depending on the load he was currently hauling (Collins v. Heritage Wine Cellars, Ltd.).
- Held that:
- it was proper to defer to the DOL's interpretation of the SAFETEA-LU as modified by the TCA;
- GVWR, rather than a vehicle's actual weight is used for purposes of determining if a truck weighs more than 10,000 pounds and its driver is exempt from overtime. GVWR is an objective and predictable standard.
- Affirmed the district court's decision:
- denying partial summary judgment for McCall; and
- granting summary judgment for the employer.
Court documents: