Hello all. I was looking for information on experiences anyone has had with enforcing the federal minimum wage law in the trucking industry. The few posts I've seen indicate that the U.S. Department of Labor is not eager to act in this arena. I know that truck drivers are not entitled to overtime under federal law but they are entitled to minimum wage. Experienced and well-paid truckers are probably not bumping up against the minimum wage, but I suspect new truckers are. I know of one trucker's experience waiting 2 days on getting the rig repaired and waiting countless hours on loads to be ready or yards/plants to open so a load can be picked up or dropped. It seems to me this waiting around time is working time that should be compensated. There is no pay when the truck is not moving, and at the low OTR pay per mile, it seems like some folks can wind up making below the minimum wage in some weeks. Has anyone had any experience challenging their employer on this? Any luck with the Department of Labor?

It would be best if this fight was taken to a secondary agency. Such of the VA if the driver is a veteran. A direct assault on this issue would be suicidal. However, if others fight this fight and win, I would be glad to share in the benefits. Putting my family at risk in this job market is not something I am will to do. The company you are working for is not making money with you setting around. If they have to pay for that down time it would be my opinion that cutting the job would be the correct business move. The time to attack this issue is when everyone is busy and the companies out there dont see it as a problem.

Plus once trucking is associated with Minimum wage no company will hire anyone from this country. Would you like fries with that, Senor?

Sort of agree. It would be most difficult to get a company to pay a wage to someone who is not working, goes against all standards.

I am involved in a class action law suit against a company that refuses to pay overtime though. We are attempting to get the law changed but it is an on going civil suit and I can't say a lot about it right now. Hopefully if we can fix it in our situation we can change it for the whole nation. The law was originally written in 1938 and we think it is high time that it gets updated to reflect modern standards with the rest of todays society.

I couldn't believe I just read what I just read...had to read that twice then I noticed you were NOT a truck driver.....thank you for seeing that there is a problem here but.........look I know that we work way too many hours and it does come out to less than min wage....oh wait we are O/O's different ballgame than a hired driver......no we do not get demurage even though I have heard rumors of that possability...it never materializes.......
look the government has already done trucking SOOOO many favors that I shudder to think of what can happen if something like minimum wage creeps into our domain.........
Truck drivers are the last of a dying breed.......the less the govenment "helps" us the better we can do our job........
There is a song called "Daydream Cowboy" that Chris LeDoux sang on his album songs of Rodeo Country......to me that song best describes truck driving today.......I can see my truck "loping" up the East bound side Mineola Hill on I-70 as the sun is sinking in the West.....truck driving has ya by your heart and soul and it is just your life not a job..........

At the present time and under the laws of the U.S. Dept. of Labor, truck drivers have been exempted from the minimum wage law. This exemption was enacted in I think, 1952 or 3 at the behest of the I.C.C. (Interstate Commerce Commission) which no longer exists.

Economically, I would truly enjoy seeing commercial vehicle drivers making more money. It would allow more drivers into the pool as more would be willing to enter this field of endeavor, and eliminate the lesser desired ones (the ones that can't get it right.....non-professional drivers). But on the flip side; in this economy how much are you willing to pay for everything you purchase? Somewhere along the line a truck handled it..........everything. Raising the payscale for commercial drivers would be nice, but those costs are without question passed on to the consumer. Being retired I must account for every dollar, every month. That is not fun when prices keep rising.

From a retired federal DOT official

Thanks to all who have posted so far with comments. As one of you noted, no, I'm not a trucker. My Chevy Tahoe pulling a U-Haul trailer is the closest I've come. My father is a relatively new trucker and has gotten jerked around a fair amount by his company. I practice law but know little about the trucking industry, so I appreciate everyone's insight. I also want to clarify that I don't view the trucking industry as a minimum wage industry - clearly truckers are (or should be) hard working professionals. But I also think there is a difference between an O/O who (I think) is essentially a businessman engaged in trucking and a company driver who depends on one company for his livelihood. In my view, for O/O's the risk of not earning the minimum wage is just part of being in business. Just like if I work a lot of hours one month, but none of my clients pay their bills. But for company drivers, I don't think employees should bear that risk. Again comparing to my industry, even if my clients are not paying bills one month, I still have to pay the lawyers who I employ but who are not my business partners.

In general, I agree with the economic comments. Obviously, if companies have to pay more for labor, they will either raise their prices or, if the economy won't support that, they will reduce the size of the workforce. And the companies have every incentive to keep the workforce small because they do not have to pay overtime, which provides an incentive for companies to spread the work around to avoid overtime. Trust me, I'm keenly aware of this, as my father is probably one of the first who would be cut since he is less experienced than lots of others out there. The law is the law, but it may be that dear ol' dad (and everyone else) will just have to suck it up. I've read in posts that the first year for a trucker is a tough one. And maybe, as one commenter wrote, that is how they weed out the ones that won't make it.

In any event, I am most interested in psanderson's post that the Dept of Labor has exempted truckers from the minimum wage. The exemption in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act applies by its own terms only to overtime, but I have read several forum posts elsewhere claiming that the DOL has essentially washed its hands of wage and hour enforcement in trucking. Psanderson (or anyone else out there), do you know if the DOL has simply taken a hands-off approach to minimum wage enforcement in the industry, or am I missing something else? Again, I appreciate the insight from those who have worked in and are familiar with the industry.

The (INTERSTATE) trucking industry is EXEMPT from the FLSA. EXCEPT in the State of Washington.

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