Department of Labor says companies not required to pay for sleeper berth time


In response to a question from a trucking company, the U.S. Department of Labor published an opinion letter on Monday, July 22, to clarify that truck drivers don’t need to be paid for sleeper berth time if they are “completely relieved from duty.”

Based on the information provided by the trucking company, the Department of Labor wrote that the company would not be required to pay for its drivers’ time in the sleeper.

“The driver’s time spent in the berth was time when the driver was relieved of all duties and was ‘permitted to sleep in adequate facilities furnished by the employer,’ and presumptively nonworking, off-duty time,” wrote Cheryl Stanton, administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. “You have represented that, when the driver was in the berth, he did not perform any work and was not on call to perform work. Accordingly, the driver’s time in the berth was not compensable.”

The trucking company, which was not named, provided an example of a driver’s sleeper berth time for a week that broke down as follows:

• Day 1: 2.82 hours
• Day 2: 0 hours
• Day 3: 4.75 hours
• Day 4: 12.08 hours
• Day 5: 11.67 hours
• Day 6: 11.17 hours
• Day 7: 7.47 hours

The company asked whether or not it would satisfy its federal minimum wage obligation under the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying the driver at least $404.84 (55.84 hours worked x the federal minimum wage of $7.25) for the workweek described above.

“Based on the facts you provided – a representative example of a truck driver who spent 55.84 hours in a workweek driving, inspecting, cleaning, fueling, and completing paperwork, and 49.96 hours off-duty in the sleeper berth – carrier would satisfy its FLSA minimum wage obligation to this driver by paying the driver at least $404.84,” Stanton wrote.

Truck drivers are exempt from overtime pay, and most drivers’ wages are based on mileage.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said that, too often, a truck driver’s time is not valued.

“While I think most drivers intuitively would believe that being paid while you sleep is a bit much, they also believe they should be paid for their time doing all of the other tasks that are part of trucking,” OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer said. “Because no value is placed on a driver’s time in most instances today, the work week for the typical driver can be twice as long as most other occupations. It’s hardly a surprise that retention is an issue.”