07/28/2020
This Supreme Court precedent will certainly force the vast majority of trucking companies to take a hard look at how their drivers are paid.
Background: When Jimmy Carter signed legislation that exempted truck drivers from the Fair Labor Standards Act, trucking firms began paying their drivers by the mile instead of by the hour because it exempted drivers from earning a minimum wage.
Most companies use the Rand McNally Mover's Guide to determine the mileage for any given load. "Variance" is the difference between what is paid and what actually goes on the truck's odometer. This is also called "Out of Route Miles", and it averages a shortage not bring paid to the driver of 8-15%.
A few companies use Rand McNally Practical Miles to pay their drivers, which uses more roads that truckers actually use. The "variance" using Practical Miles usually runs about 3-5%
The problem with paying by the mile instead of by the hour has 3 major flaws.
First:
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Foremost, drivers are paid by the mile, yet they are federally-regulated by the hour on their Record of Duty Status (better known as a "log book"). It regulates how many hours they can drive each day in a 60 or 70-hour period, depending upon whether or not the company is open 7 days per week.
The log book gives each driver a 14-hour period to accomplish all the work that is need for the day, including up to 11 hours of driving. Once the driver hits 14 hours on-duty (including driving), the truck cannot move. The driver can continue to work, but cannot drive. Once the driver has finished the day, a 10-hour break resets the on-duty clock back to zero.
They are also regulated to working 60 hours in 7 days (if the company does not operate 7 days a week), or 70 hours in 8 days. Once the weekly hour limit has been reached. The truck cannot move until the driver takes a 10-hour break and the hours from a week ago drop off the total (usually at midnight).
The driver also has an option to reset the weekly total back to zero by staying off duty for a period of 24 hours plus one additional 10-hour break. This is better known as a "34-Hour Restart".
More miles per week = More $$$
Secondly:
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If a driver is paid by the mile, but regulated by the hour, built-in incentives to "cheat the system" are inadvertently created. One incentive is to only run states where he can run more miles in any given hour. That means, avoiding the 55 MPH states and just running the 75 and 80 MPH states by declining loads or by swapping loads at a terminal or drop lot.
More miles per week = More $$$
Thirdly:
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The other incentive is to log a minimal number of hours of "On-Duty, Not Driving" time. This includes the uncompensated (donated) time spent loading, time spent unloading, and time spent fueling, inspecting, washing, stuck in traffic, time lost by running 25-35 mph on snowpacked roads, or downtime repairing the truck.
The incentive to speed and drive aggressively is inherently, and unintentially, built into the system.
More miles per week = More $$$
Conclusion
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It has long been my opinion that drivers should be paid by the hour.
--Carpenters don't get paid by the nail.
--Lifeguards don't get paid by the rescue.
--Cops don't get paid by the number of arrests or citations.
--Surgeons don't get paid by the stich.
-- If a driver is paid by the hour, the incentive to drive fast in inclimate weather is gone, as is the desire to drive aggressively during rush hour. Driving 55 MPH pays exactly the same as driving 75 MPH.
So, why pay drivers by the mile?
The case and its settlement could set a precedent for truck drivers who say their companies aren't paying fair wages.
