Truck Drivers Deserve Overtime Pay!

By: ClassADrivers.com

Photo by Ocean Ng on Unsplash

Long-haul trucking can be a great career. One of the last few jobs where you don’t need a four-year degree to make a solid middle-class income. But there’s always been a catch to the pay structure of trucking – overtime pay.

Due to a provision in the Fair Labor Standards Act, which was enacted way back in 1938, many commercial truck drivers are exempt from the overtime pay regulated by the federal government. This is despite often working way beyond the regulated 40-hours-a-week.

As a result, truck drivers get their Cents-Per-Mile and possibly bonuses such as detention pay, but they are not entitled to the time-and-a-half pay stipulated by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Legislation to the Rescue?

Change might be on the horizon, however, as support is picking up in the US Congress for action. After truck drivers proved their worth throughout multiple crises, from the pandemic to the supply chain, new legislation may change the Fair Labor Standards Act to include commercial truck drivers in the overtime pay regulation.

Back in April, Democratic Representative Andy Levin and co-sponsored by Republican Representative Jeff Van Drew introduced the Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act, which would repeal the relevant driver exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act. If passed by the House, the bill would also have to be passed by the Senate.

And Now a Senate Bill

Fortunately (and finally), companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate. The Senate bill has been put forward by Democratic Senators Alex Padilla, Richard Blumenthal, Elizabeth Warren, and Ed Markey, as well as Independent Senator Bernie Sanders.

Sen. Ed Markey commented, “Don’t be fooled by the trucking companies’ crocodile tears. There is a simple way to recruit and retain drivers: increase their pay. The Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act does exactly that by eliminating the overtime exemption.”

If both bills pass and are signed into law by President Biden, truck drivers would be required overtime pay at long last.

Support and Opposition

The following organizations support the legislation which offer overtime pay for truck drivers:

  • Teamsters union
  • Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA)
  • The Truck Safety Coalition
  • The Institute for Safer Trucking
  • Parents Against Tired Truckers
  • CRASH, a grassroots non-profit dedicated to improving overall truck safety in the U.S.

Opposition will come from intense lobbying from the American Trucking Associations (ATA), which represent the largest trucking firms who would have to pay their employees more.

The truck driver overtime debate will truly decide which legislators truly support the working class?