FIGHTING FOR FAAAA CAPITOLGains
BY STEVE BRAWNER Contributing Writer
In an effort to avoid a hodgepodge of
trucking laws being passed across the country, trucking advocates are trying to reassert a principle in effect since 1994. That was the year that, in the wake of
the national deregulation of the motor carri- er industry, Congress passed the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act. Known by many as FAAAA, it spelled out that states could not interfere with motor carriers’ routes, rates and services. It also offered protections in aviation and rail. But California laws intended for all
employees are being applied to motor carri- ers in ways that would seem to violate that standard. All employees in that state are required to have a 30-minute meal break if they work more than five hours and a sec- ond break if they work more than 10 hours, as well as 10-minute rest breaks for every four hours they work. In 2008, three truck drivers working for Penske Logistics sued in a class-action lawsuit saying they were entitled to those benefits. They lost in dis- trict court but won their appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2014, meaning drivers must get those breaks. Meanwhile, paying drivers using a piece rate model – for example, by the mile – could violate California’s labor laws. California’s actions fly in the face of
Congress’ intent. So trucking advocates are trying to make that intent clearer. Michael Joyce, American Trucking Associations senior vice president-legisla- tive affairs, said advocates are addressing
48 Summer 2016
the issue in Congress. By themselves, the regulations are
troublesome. Adding rest breaks and meal breaks reduces driving time while increas- ing parking time and adding to road con- gestion – not to mention what it does to routes. Piece rate payments are a standard trucking industry model that incentivizes efficiency. Meanwhile, the laws force drivers off
the road for a break they don’t need (or even want) and force them to accept a pay- ment model that’s potentially less advanta- geous.
Melvin Cairns, a driver with Ryder
with 3 million accident-free miles, said in a video produced by the American Trucking Associations that it takes 10-15 minutes to exit the road and another 10-15 minutes to get up the speed, not to mention the time it takes to stop. “We incorporate our breaks into our
day and our stops and the different things that we do, so just putting in a mandatory
stop just to stop is just extending our day and making our day longer rather than more safe,” he said. He also said that when his motor carrier moved from a mileage- based pay rate to an hourly rate, it cost him $5,000 a year. The bigger concern is how the inter-
state trucking industry would operate with wildly different legal climates in 50 states. A patchwork of laws would add tremen- dous costs for trucking companies. David Saunders, president of
WorkforceQA, a third party compliance partner who has served on the American Trucking Associations Regulations Committee since 1999, said, “We don’t just look at the state and say this state’s picking on these drivers. What we do look for is whether that state is trying to influence other states to go along with them so that they can start a wave of changing rules from an enforcement standpoint.” Saunders said states who want to
expand these kinds of regulations cannot
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