WASHINGTON — Advocates for getting more women into trucking weakened their stance on an overtime pay exemption as they hammered out a report to be submitted to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
The change was made on Monday during the final meeting of the Women of Trucking Advisory Board (WOTAB), which was chartered last year by the secretary of transportation and charged with “reviewing and reporting on policies that provide education, training, mentorship, or outreach to women in the trucking industry and recruit, retain, or advance women in the trucking industry.”
Listed among “Essential statements” in its FMCSA report, a WOTAB report drafting subcommittee sought to remove the industry exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which currently allows carriers to avoid paying overtime wages to drivers.
“[The FLSA] is a barrier for women to become drivers making it hard to support their families and earn a fair wage with basic protections,” according to the subcommittee’s statement.
However, American Trucking Associations legislative affairs director Alexandra Rosen, a WOTAB member, pushed back on the draft statement, contending that “there would be a high chance that this would impact wages negatively, because many owner-operators are paid by the load and by the mile.
Rosen, who lobbies Congress on labor issues, said that removing the FLSA exemption would “upend 90-plus years of labor law, and I don’t think that impact would necessarily reflect” what the board is intending to do by changing the law.
In defending the statement to remove the FLSA exemption, WOTAB member and professional truck driver Kellylynn McLaughlin responded that one of the major complaints in this industry has been that drivers are not compensated for their time, “which is normally between 60-70 hours per week,” she said.
“The labor protections that are afforded every other industry and employer does not apply to us. And it’s time to take a good look at our protections and that we receive the same protections as others in the workforce.” She also pointed out that the exemption would not affect owner-operators, but would only apply to company drivers.
But Rosen countered that truck drivers who are considered employees under FLSA “are unlikely to receive that increased pay, because employers are going to be incentivized to adjust those compensation rates-per-mile or per load to account for that change, as well as the separate costs associated with overtime hours.”
After the discussion, WOTAB altered the statement. It was changed to read: “Review and research the potential for an industry exemption from the FLSA to determine the degree to which the lack of FLSA applicability to trucking is a barrier for women to become drivers, making it hard to support their families and earn a fair wage with basic protections.”
Debate over the issue of driver compensation resurfaced last week after legislation to remove the FLSA exemption was reintroduced in the House and Senate.
Endorsed by safety advocates and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, some members of which are company drivers, the legislation was strongly opposed by ATA, which called it “a thinly-veiled attempt to boost trial attorneys’ fees” that would “reduce drivers’ paychecks and decimate trucking jobs.”
Anti-harassment, driver training addressed
In addition to policies that can potentially affect all drivers and carriers, WOTAB’s report focused on other ways to improve the lives of female truckers and boost the ranks of women in the industry.
The report recommended removing drivers who are proved to have committed sexual harassment and assault by setting up complaint-reporting mechanisms outside the company structure.
The board also sought to develop a rating system for carriers “that would demonstrate commitment to industry standards, allow drivers to understand potential safety concerns with carriers, and highlight carriers that actively demonstrate their commitment to upholding anti-harassment standards.”
To address harassment vulnerabilities exposed during CDL training periods, WOTAB’s report advised that, during over-the-road training, “trainers and trainees should never share the same sleeping quarters,” including hotel rooms and sleeping berths.
It also pushed for expanding government grants for training and education for women pursuing a CDL, including offsetting child care, transportation and living expenses.
After receiving and finalizing WOTAB’s report, the FMCSA administrator will submit a report to Congress, as required by law.
Karen Secor
It would inspire women to be drivers, not entrepreneurs. The world is full of women employees, not women in leadership. In a world of overtime trucking, I believe you would see more contract work and fewer women because mega carriers will opt to contract and small carriers will struggle and suffer, locking women out of employment unless they contract. Definitely fewer women owning trucking companies because of the astronomical start up costs and risks associated with having employees. I don’t think this would have the intended result. I think it will push leasing which the government was trying to leave.
Gerald A. McAlister
What am I missing? How would removing the OT exemption effect any facet of the industry outside of the local drivers who are paid by the hour? If you are a owner/operator or company driver who operates regionally or over the road and under per mile or percent of the load, you don’t get paid by the hour and it is irrelevant to you. Why would anyone be opposed to removing the OT exemption? It’s the local hourly drivers who would benefit from the change…
Darren domek
Just keep things as they are.. just make sure the companies that hire women are making sure they can do the job.. I have seen sooo many times men helping women open the hoods of the tractors, helping them back into truck stop parking spaces and docks so nothing gets damaged.. it’s seams they are out here driving on a wing and a prayer. Hoping someone will help them or no one hits them or they don’t hit someone..
Dennis
Overtime pay for local drivers that get paid by the hour !!! Is only fair. We’re getting screwed!!! DOT FMSCA DEPT LABOR!! Do your job !
Kyle John McKee
Also may I add, “the entire trucking industry needs to be unionized”
Kyle John McKee
This is why so many are leaving this industry. This “forsaken” law which passed in 1938, still is the reason company driver’s do get paid fairly. As to the comments of how this would affect “owner operators”s. An owner operator is just that. An owner operator of this industry is no different then any other business. Of course owner operators would not get overtime “it’s their own business”. As for the comments that the company would would “restructure” the scheduling!, yes they would, but, they would still have to pay overtime because of drivers sitting in docks for long periods of time, breakdowns, etc. It would be so easy for a trucking company to initiate “hourly pay, with overtime, plus $50 a night for sleeping in the truck”. That is fair and decent compensation. Yet, these mega carriers will NEVER EVER initiate this. They care nothing for their drivers only the freight.
Marie Hill
As a female driver I have driven under these rules for 29 years and it has not affected my ability to make a living. I currently make 90,000 a year. I feel things should remain as they are.
K$
Just like in the workforce, then the military, then the government, now trucking. Women pit down this nonsense that we are equal, but when they come into anything, they want special privilege, or changes to the normal operations to accommodate them. This is the bull of the equality nonsense. I completely blame women for the downfall of America. Directly, or indirectly, the women have a hand in our downfall!