{"id":3700,"date":"2019-01-03T13:51:52","date_gmt":"2019-01-03T19:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ooida.com\/?p=3700"},"modified":"2019-07-26T11:38:17","modified_gmt":"2019-07-26T17:38:17","slug":"ooida-responds-to-fmcsa-preemption-of-california-meal-and-rest-break-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ooida.com\/2019\/ooida-responds-to-fmcsa-preemption-of-california-meal-and-rest-break-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"OOIDA responds to FMCSA preemption of California meal and rest break laws"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association<\/strong><\/h5>\n

1 OOIDA Drive, Grain Valley, MO\u00a0 64029<\/strong>
\nWeb Site:<\/strong>\u00a0www.www.ooida.com<\/a><\/em>
\nFacebook:<\/strong>\u00a0OOIDA Facebook<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Contact:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>Norita Taylor,\u00a0norita_taylor@ooida.com<\/a>
\nHeadquarters<\/strong>: (816) 229-5791<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For Immediate Release<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

OOIDA responds to FMCSA preemption of California meal and rest break laws<\/h2>\n

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is concerned about a recent decision by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to preempt meal and rest break laws in California.<\/p>\n

The FMCSA granted a petition that, effective immediately, preempts California state laws that deal with meal and rest breaks for truck drivers. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) submitted the petition last year requesting federal preemption, citing numerous issues such as conflicts with the federal hours-of-service regulations. California\u2019s laws require employers to provide employees with meal and rest breaks at certain intervals and motor carriers have been subjected to lawsuits for violations of the laws.\u00a0 A similar petition was rejected by FMCSA roughly 10 years ago, in which the agency said it exceeded their authority to make such a determination.<\/p>\n

\u201cFMCSA decided to unilaterally interpret longstanding federal statute, and in doing so they contradicted their own determination nearly 10 years ago,\u201d said Todd Spencer, OOIDA President.\u00a0 \u201cIn reality, this issue should be addressed by Congress, not FMCSA.\u00a0 Unfortunately, Congress \u2013 led by former Congressman Jeff Denham (R-CA) \u2013 kept pursuing a legislative solution that was overly broad, contained a retroactive provision, and had zero chance of ever being signed into law.\u201d<\/p>\n

OOIDA strongly opposed what was rightfully termed the \u201cDenham Amendment\u201d but the association was open to a more limited and balanced approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think FMCSA\u2019s decision may generate legal challenges and it remains to be seen how state lawmakers in California respond to a federal preemption that effectively guts state labor laws designed to protect employee truck drivers,\u201d said Spencer.<\/p>\n

OOIDA also contends FMCSA\u2019s preemption determination and ATA\u2019s efforts on Capitol Hill ignore a larger issue, which is the federal definition of \u201cinterstate commerce\u201d based on the cargo being hauled.\u00a0 In short, virtually all cargo hauled in the U.S. is classified as interstate commerce even though the driver hauling said cargo might never cross state lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe distinction between interstate and intrastate commerce is already murky and FMCSA\u2019s preemption further complicates an already complex issue,\u201d said Spencer.\u00a0 \u201cWe agree with many other industry stakeholders that certain federal statutes need to be reviewed, but any changes should be thoroughly vetted to make sure it\u2019s done right.\u00a0 This simply hasn\u2019t happened in Congress over the last several years.\u201d<\/p>\n

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