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California Court of Appeal Confirms Expansive Reach of Federal Meal and Rest Break Preemption

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates the hours of service for drivers of certain property-carrying commercial motor vehicles. The FMCSA’s regulations include meal and rest break rules that generally prohibit drivers from driving if they have gone eight hours without a thirty-minute off-duty or sleeper-berth break. Drivers must also be provided with breaks any time they feel fatigued or are otherwise unable to safely drive.

Alexander M. Chemers Los Angeles Author

Melis Atalay Los Angeles Author

New California Law Targets Warehouses—and Perhaps All Employers That Use Performance Metrics

A new California law, Assembly Bill (AB) No. 701, provides new regulatory scrutiny of job performance quotas at warehouse distribution centers. The stated purpose of the law is to ensure that the use of production quotas do not penalize workers for taking meal and rest breaks, using the restroom, and complying with other health and safety standards.

Michael J. Nader Sacramento Author

Supreme Court Seeks Solicitor General Input on Preemption Challenge to California’s AB 5

On November 15, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order concerning the California Trucking Association’s (CTA) challenge to California’s independent contractor law, Assembly Bill (AB) 5. The Supreme Court‘s order invited the United States Solicitor General (SG) to file a submission describing the federal government’s position with respect to this case and the question CTA posed to the Court that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) preempts AB 5.

Robert R. Roginson Los Angeles Author

Alexander M. Chemers Los Angeles Author

California Mid-Year Legislative Update: Family Leave, Sick Pay, and Work Quotas

The pandemic continues to loom large over the California legislature this year, as indicated by the bills advancing through the legislative process. Below is a summary of the major employment law bills that are working their way through the state Assembly and Senate. The bills pertain to the expansion of medical and sick leave, postings for employees working remotely, and warehouse production quotas for facilities that have ramped up operations during the pandemic.

Michael J. Nader Sacramento Author

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Invalidates No-Hire Provision in Service Contract

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recently held unenforceable a no-hire provision in a service contract between a logistics company and a trucking firm. In Pittsburgh Logistics Systems, Inc. v. Beemac Trucking LLC, et. al., the court reasoned that the no-hire provision at issue was overly broad and undermined fair competition for employees in the shipping and logistics industry.

Daniel P. O’Meara Philadelphia Author

Ninth Circuit Upholds Federal Preemption of California’s Meal and Rest Break Laws for Interstate Commercial Drivers

In one of the year’s most anticipated court decisions for the trucking industry, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 2785, et al. v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, No. 19-70413 (January 15, 2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) ruling that federal rest break regulations preempted California’s meal and rest break rules, as applied to drivers of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles.

Spencer C. Skeen San Diego Author

Tim L. Johnson San Diego Author

Nikolas T. Djordjevski San Diego Author

Making Sense of Colorado’s New Wage and Hour and Paid Sick Leave Rulemaking

Back in January, management-side labor and employment lawyers in Colorado thought the biggest wage and hour compliance issue for 2020 would be limited to ensuring clients were up to date on the expanded meal and rest break requirements of the Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards Order #36 (COMPS #36). What has transpired in the months since then has been truly dizzying: a barrage of legal and regulatory developments ranging from drastically overhauled COMPS exemptions to an entirely new paid sick leave requirement. Considering the pace at which these changes have progressed, it is possible that by the time this article is published, new rulemaking or guidance will have taken us in a different direction, but the following are some of the most important wage compliance issues to consider for Colorado employers as the new year looms.

Michael H. Bell Denver
Dallas Author

FMCSA Issues Order Preempting Washington’s Meal and Rest Break Rules as Applied to Commercial Truck Drivers

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued an order this week that Washington State’s meal and rest break rules are preempted as applied to property-carrying commercial motor vehicle drivers subject to its hours of service rules.

Laurence A. Shapero Seattle Author

First Circuit Holds FAA Does Not Drive Independent Contractors’ Class Action Wage Claims Case

Recently, and for the first time in more than 20 years, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled on the transportation worker exemption contained in Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). In Waithaka v. Amazon.com, Inc., 966 F.3d 10 (1st Cir. 2020), the court of appeals upheld a district court’s decision not to compel Amazon “AmFlex” delivery drivers (who are independent contractors) to arbitrate their wage claims. The decision is significant for companies that require their delivery drivers to sign arbitration agreements.

Patrick M. Curran, Jr. Boston Author

DOL Provides Insight Into the FLSA’s ‘Retail or Service Establishment’ Exemption, Opening the Door for Broader Application

On August 31, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued four opinion letters, one of which, Opinion Letter FLSA2020-11, addressed whether certain employees in the oilfield services industry were exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The specific question answered by the DOL in FLSA2020-11 involved truck drivers of an oilfield waste-removal company and the “retail or service establishment” overtime exemption of the FLSA (29 U.S.C. § 207(i), better known as the “Section 7(i) exemption”).

Jeff S. Mayes Houston Author

San Francisco Issues Guidance on COVID-19 ‘Temporary Right to Reemployment’ Ordinance

On August 7, 2020, the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) published guidance regarding the City of San Francisco’s “Temporary Right to Reemployment Following Layoff Due to COVID-19 Pandemic Emergency Ordinance.” Also known as the “Back to Work” emergency ordinance, the ordinance took effect on July 3, 2020, requiring San Francisco employers with 100 or more employees to offer reemployment to eligible employees laid off because of the COVID-19 pandemic when the employers rehire for the same or similar job classifications.

Charles L. Thompson, IV San Francisco Author

California Legislature Advances Numerous Labor and Employment Bills

Despite all that is going on in the world, the California legislature has been busy this year. Below is a summary of the major employment law bills that are working their way through the state Assembly and Senate.

Christopher W. Olmsted San Diego Author

Michael J. Nader Sacramento Author

New Jersey Supreme Court Confirms Enforceability of Employment Arbitration Agreements With Class Action Waivers Exempted Under FAA

On May 21, 2018, in Epic Systems Corporation v. Lewis, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld class action waivers in arbitration agreements, ruling that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) instructs “federal courts to enforce arbitration agreements according to their terms—including terms providing for individualized proceedings.” On July 14, 2020, the Supreme Court of New Jersey handed down a landmark decision of its own upholding the enforceability of employment arbitration agreements with class action waivers under the New Jersey Arbitration Act (NJAA), even if the agreements are exempted from the coverage of the FAA, by virtue of the FAA’s Section 1 “transportation worker exemption.”

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green—Go! Considerations for Reopening in Mexico: Social, Educational, and Economic Activities

The federal government of Mexico is implementing a sanitary alert system—called the “traffic light” system—for gradually reopening activities, including the economy in a safe and durable manner. The reopening will be performed in three phases.

Pietro Straulino-Rodriguez Mexico City Author

Nora M. Villalpando Badillo Mexico City Author

Cal/OSHA Issues Guidance for Logistics and Warehousing Facilities

On May 7, 2020, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), better known as Cal/OSHA, issued its COVID-19 Industry Guidance: Logistics and Warehousing Facilities, which provides detailed guidance to logistics and warehouse facilities on how to support a safe and clean work environment for workers in order to avoid the outbreak and transmittal of COVID-19 in the workplace.

Carmen M. Aguado Los Angeles Author

Robert R. Roginson Los Angeles Author

Cal/OSHA Releases COVID-19 Guidance for Logistics and Warehouse Facilities

The California Department of Public Health and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) recently released industry guidance for logistics and warehousing facilities in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

FMCSA Offers Flexible Solutions for Drug and Alcohol Testing During COVID-19 Outbreak

The COVID-19 pandemic is interrupting, and in many cases, preventing compliance with the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) drug and alcohol testing regulations. On March 23, 2020, DOT published guidance on compliance with DOT drug and alcohol regulations that clarified some existing legal requirements but offered little in the way of practical solutions. On March 25, 2020, however, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published clear, flexible guidance specific to FMCSA’s testing requirements to aid FMCSA-regulated employers unable to comply with FMCSA’s testing requirements due to COVID-19.

Valerie N. Butera Detroit (Metro) Author

Department of Transportation Issues Notice on Use of CBD Products by Safety-Sensitive Employees

The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) recent notice on the use of cannabidiol (CBD) products serves as a warning to employees in DOT-defined safety-sensitive positions. While the DOT has always had clear regulations strictly prohibiting the use of marijuana for truck drivers, school bus drivers, train engineers, pilots, transit vehicle operators, and the like, the increasingly widespread use of CBD products created a gray area with regard to testing.

Eric E. Hobbs Milwaukee Author

Kayla A. McCann Milwaukee Author

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