Texas Truck Driver Labor Laws

Recently, Congress changed the overtime regulation for truck drivers with a GVWR rating of less than 10,000 pounds. Drivers of these work vehicles were mostly exempt from federal regulation before August 2005 if they transported merchandise over State lines.

However, they aren’t immune and are protected by Federal overtime regulation. So, you’re eligible for overtime if you work more than forty hours per week. The new law will significantly affect road delivery motorists, like newspaper road motorists and sales executives.

That being said, the new changes in the rule have not been acknowledged by many employers who continue to treat their employees under the older rules.

Not everyone comes under the new rules. Other truck drivers, for instance, may still be immune. The Fair Labor Standard Act offers an overtime exception for workers controlled by the transportation department and trucks with a GVWR rating of more than 10,000.

As a truck driver in Texas, you must be aware of your rights as an employee. As the state of Texas continues to change its laws and regulations, it is paramount that drivers understand their rights and responsibilities to ensure they are compensated fairly and abide by state labor laws.

Hours of Service

Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), truck drivers may not work for more than 14 hours without taking a 10-hour break. Drivers must also limit their weekly driving hours to no more than 60 hours over seven consecutive days or 70 hours over eight days. Additionally, drivers must take a 30-minute break at least once every 8 hours.

Overtime Laws in Texas

In Texas, truck drivers must receive overtime pay for any job that requires more than 40 hours of work in one week. This same rule applies to any work done on Sundays and holidays as well. Drivers must be paid the established minimum wage for all hours worked unless they are exempt from federal requirements.

Protection Against Discrimination

Under state law, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against workers based on race, gender, age, or any other protected class. Suppose a truck driver has been subject to discrimination in any form. In that case, they should immediately contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division (TWC).

Unemployment Benefits

Truck drivers in Texas are eligible to receive unemployment benefits if they have been laid off or terminated for reasons unrelated to their conduct. To be eligible for these benefits, drivers must meet certain criteria, such as having sufficient wages earned during the base year period and actively searching for new employment.

Texas Overtime for Truck Drivers

All non-exempt employees in Texas are entitled to overtime pay for any hours they work beyond 40 per week, as dictated by federal law. This applies regardless of the employee’s salary or position. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Texas Minimum Wage Act, overtime pay must be at least one and a half-time at the employee’s regular rate. The only exceptions are certain executive, administrative, professional, and commissioned positions classified as exempt by the Department of Labor. Employers need to understand their obligations and ensure they’re providing employees with the appropriate overtime pay.

Who is Eligible?

Wondering if you’re eligible for overtime pay? Your employer does not have to pay you overtime in the following scenarios.

  • Hired by a vehicle career or private vehicle career offering car conveyance for repayment.
  • Drivers, loaders, mechanics, or helpers whose responsibility affects the security of the performance of cars in interstate trade.
  • Not protected by the small car immunity. If the worker works or drives on vehicles weighing less than ten thousand pounds, the protection doesn’t apply.

Knowing whether truck drivers are immune from overtime is essential. Several firms wrongly believe that all drivers are immune to overtime regulations. Or, they deliberately circumvent compensating overtime to workers who do not know their entitlement to overtime reward.

Knowing your right as a truck driver can help you avoid earning your due.

Eligibility for Overtime

The first stage in establishing your overtime eligibility is to learn if the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) protects your job. You’re more probably protected beneath the FLSA regulations if your employer is:

  • A firm with a yearly sales volume of five hundred thousand dollars or more.
  • A state, local, or federal administrative agency.
  • A private or public healthcare facility.
  • Private or public academic institutions.

Weekend and Holiday Pay in Texas

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not mandate extra pay for work on weekends, holidays, or rest days. However, it is up to employers and employees to agree upon the terms of such compensation. It is important to note that the FLSA operates on a workweek basis comprising seven consecutive days. Any overtime pay earned within one workweek must be provided on the standard payday for that period. With this understanding in mind, employers can ensure they pay their employees fairly and accurately.

Understanding the Exceptions

Remember, there are numerous exemptions and provisions of these laws.

  • To determine if your boss is covered, seek an employment attorney’s help and ask.
  • Next, you’ll need to determine if you’re categorized as a non-exempt or exempt worker as stated by FLSA standards.
  • The motor carrier act beneath the FLSA states that overtime needs do not apply if the transportation’s secretary establishes maximum hours and qualifications for your boss.
  • Motor career workers who run a business vehicle with a gross car mass rating of over ten thousand pounds unloaded or loaded are also not eligible for overtime according to labor.

Workers’ duties immune from overtime include the discharge of welfare-affecting activities on a conveyance car steered on public roads for interstate trade. This means regional truck drivers, truck loaders, mechanics, and helpers are immune from overtime.

An anomaly to this law is if the worker’s responsibilities do not affect the vehicle carrier’s welfare or performance. Truckers are immune from overtime by this rule since they often operate protection-affecting activities within the vehicle carrier.

How to determine if you’re immune?

The number one method to determine if you merit overtime as a truck driver is to contact an experienced Texas truck driver overtime attorney. He’ll help you to know your right as a truck driver and will assist you in filing a petition against your boss if he has failed to reimburse you for overtime.

Truck drivers with a gross vehicle weight rating of over ten thousand pounds and who convey merchandise from outside the country in which they drive or tow merchandise over State lines are predominantly immune from the right to overtime reimbursement. However, if a driver doesn’t cross state lines and is not conveying merchandise that emerged outside the state, he may qualify for overtime pay.

Additionally, any motorist immune from overtime is qualified for overtime reward if, in any week of work, he loads, drives, or toils on any car of gross vehicle weight rating of fewer than ten thousand pounds as part of his assigned duties.

How to file an overtime infringement appeal in Texas?

If you believe you’re a Texas truck driver owed an overtime reward, you should seek help from a Texas truck driver overtime lawyer to know your legal choices. Just because you are a trucker, it does not mean you are automatically immune from overtime rewards.

While countless Texas truck drivers fall beneath Section 13(b) (1) of the Fair Labor Standard Act, know that there are exemptions. If your employer presumes you’re immune from overtime, but you think contrarily, you may want to seek assistance.