FMCSA to Reconsider California and Washington Break Rules
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), one of the leading regulators of the trucking industry, said that California’s and Washington’s rules regarding breaks did not apply to truckers. They are instead under the jurisdiction of federal regulations. This declaration happened in 2018 during the Trump Administration, and as such the current establishment is heavily considering reversing it.
Details
On August 14th, the FMCSA posted a notice in the Federal Register that it was going to reverse its previous decision to preempt rules regarding workers’ breaks when it comes to the trucking industry. In short, California and Washington both require workers under protection to have a ten minute break minimum every four hours, as opposed to just trucking through it.
American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear has voiced his concerns for this change, not because he is against the idea of work breaks, but because he does not want regulations in the trucking industry to become any more complicated than they already are.
“Congress first addressed this issue decades ago by passing F4A, and the U.S. DOT’s authority to preempt state rules was unanimously reaffirmed in a 2021 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,” he said in a statement. “Federal law already mandates rest breaks for drivers. Unnecessary and duplicative state laws are not grounded in safety and have been primarily enforced via private lawsuits designed to extort the trucking industry.”
Conclusion
This potential change of work breaks for commercial drivers does raise an interesting question: as truckers often work interstate, would the break rules apply to an employee from Washington who is currently in Pennsylvania? What about a North Carolina trucker that is driving through California? If this notice goes through and the Trump-era decision becomes reversed, we will have to wait and see how all of the specific cases play.
As usual, the FMCSA and Federal Register allow United States citizens to provide comments with their thoughts regarding the upcoming changes. You can read the notice and submit your opinions on the potential change at the relevant Federal Register webpage, before November 13th, 2023.
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