August 2014 – Page 4 – Economic Thinking In Action

Useful data in analyzing FLSA and wage and hour cases involving truck drivers

Useful data for analyzing FLSA and wage and hour allegations in cases involving truck drivers. (Continued from previous post)

1. Waiting Time. The Bill of Lading (BOL) for a particular load. The BOL typically shows the time the driver arrived at the site and what time he/she started loading or unloading.

2. Pre- and Post-Trip Work. Driver’s Logs typically show the time of arrival at a truck yard and the time the driver left the yard to head to the first job site as well as the time left and returning from subsequent jobs.

3. Pay records

Allegations in a truck driver FLSA and wage and hour case

(Continued from previous blog post)

1. Waiting Time. The drivers are seeking to be paid for all time spent waiting at a load or delivery site.

2. Pre- and Post-Trip Work. Time spent time at the beginning and end of each shift doing pre- and post-trip inspections and other duties in the yard was allegedly not paid.

3. Driving Empty. The drivers were allegedly not paid hourly for driving empty trucks to and from job sites.

Texas Job Openings by Major Occupational Group

Texas May 2014

Total number of job openings and median searcher-to-job ratio across all MSAs (metropolitan statistical areas) for each major occupational group in Texas in May 2014.

occupation	openings	s2jratio
Management, business, and financial occupations	53053	0.8
Professional and related occupations	77452	0.8
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	16964	1.14
Office and administrative support occupations	51305	1.15
Service occupations	61732	1.51
Sales and related occupations	27126	1.79
Transportation and material moving occupations	18312	1.99
Production occupations	20093	2.72
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	872	3.61
Construction and extraction occupations	15892	4.46

Four Largest MSAs in Texas See Increase in Job Openings and Decrease in Searchers per Job Opening

Compared to May of last year, all of the main MSAs (metropolitan statistical areas) in Texas saw an annual increase in the number of job openings and decrease in the searcher-to-job opening ratio.

FLSA and wage and hour case involving truck drivers and per-load pay

Overview

In this case, several truck driver plaintiffs filed a FLSA and wage and hour lawsuit against a petroleum transport company that provides crude oil transportation services. Its drivers pick up crude oil from well sites and deliver that oil to refineries, pipelines and storage facilities, etc. The driver’s compensation plan for its drivers included: a) pay per load for transporting the oil; and b) hourly pay for certain other activities.

Pay Per Load. For transporting a load of oil, the company paid the drivers a certain percentage of the price it received from its customer for transporting that load.

Hourly Pay. Drivers received hourly pay for: i) washing a truck; ii) time spent waiting with a disabled truck; iii) time spent at a load or delivery site after a certain point; d) training & meetings

FLSA and wage and hour case involving truck drivers and per-load pay

Overview

Pay Per Load. For transporting a load of oil, the company paid the drivers a certain percentage of the price it received from its customer for transporting that load.