CA Truck drivers are entitled to paid breaks, court says
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Truck-drivers-are-entitled-to-paid-br... [1]
Bob Egelko
Updated 5:17 pm, Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Thousands of truck drivers in California are entitled to meal breaks and rest periods under state law, despite federal deregulation of the trucking industry, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
A century-old California law requires employers to provide paid time off during extended work shifts - under current law, a 10-minute rest break every four hours and a 30-minute meal period every five hours. But trucking companies claimed they were exempted by a nationwide law signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994 that prohibits states from enforcing any statutes "related to a price, route or service of any motor carrier" that is transporting property.
Until Wednesday, most federal judges in California had ruled in favor of the companies in such cases, finding that the mandatory breaks were regulations that the federal law forbids. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco set those rulings aside and said truckers are protected by state law.
California's laws "do not set prices, mandate or prohibit certain routes, or tell motor carriers what services they may or may not provide," Judge Susan Graber said in the 3-0 ruling. "They are normal background rules for almost all employers doing business in the state."
Trucking companies argued that the state laws affect their prices and services by increasing their costs of doing business. But the court said Congress, in the 1994 deregulation law, had specified that states could continue to enforce general laws on business activity, such as transportation safety rules and insurance requirements.
"Nearly every form of state regulation carries some cost," Graber said, noting that the court had previously required trucking companies to comply with state minimum-wage laws.
The Obama administration filed arguments supporting the truckers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sided with the companies.
The ruling reinstated a class-action suit by 349 drivers who pick up and deliver appliances in California for the Penske trucking company. They said they typically work more than 10 hours a day and are either required or encouraged to take unpaid breaks on their own time.
Deepak Gupta, a lawyer for the drivers, said the ruling should apply equally to California truckers who make deliveries in other states, although the court didn't address interstate businesses.
Penske said it was disappointed by the ruling and was considering a further appeal.
Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: begelko@sfchronicle.comTwitter [2]: @egelko