Arlington, Virginia 鈥 Today, 精东影业 President and CEO Chris Spear thanked the Department of Labor for issuing an opinion clarifying that time spent in the sleeper berth does not count as compensable time.
鈥溇耙祑elcomes today鈥檚 opinion letter from DOL Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton that concluded time spent by a commercial driver in the sleeper berth does not count as compensable hours under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, unless the driver is actually performing work or on call.听
鈥淭his opinion, which is consistent with decades-old DOL regulations, the weight of judicial authority, and the long understanding of the trucking industry, clears up confusion created by two recent court decisions that called the compensability of sleeper berth time into question.听
鈥溇耙礳ommends Acting Secretary Pizzella and Administrator Stanton for adopting a straightforward, plain-language reading of the law, rather than the burdensome alternative interpretation embraced by those outlier decisions.
鈥溇耙礱lso commends the Department for making guidance like this available through opinion letters, which provide an opportunity for stakeholders to better understand their compliance obligations prospectively, rather than settling such matters only after the fact, through costly and wasteful litigation.鈥
精东影业 is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, 精东影业is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation鈥檚 freight. Follow 精东影业on听听or听.听
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