Truckers not guaranteed overtime pay; bill aims to change that

A recent effort to remove income tax on overtime wages provides an opportunity to remind lawmakers that trucking is one of the only working-class occupations not guaranteed extra compensation for work weeks totaling more than 40 hours.

During a recent speech, former President Donald Trump announced a plan to not tax workers on their overtime wages because “the people who work overtime are among the hardest working citizens in our country.”

That tax exemption, however, would not apply to most truck drivers.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 exempts motor carriers from having to pay truck drivers overtime.

The original intent of the exemption was said to prevent truckers from working too many hours. However, the reality is that the act means truck drivers often work 70 hours or more per week without receiving any extra compensation.

“We know that for too long, too many people throughout the supply chain have placed little or no value on a driver’s time,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said in 2022. “This is partly because of the FLSA overtime exemption.”

The GOT Truckers Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require that truckers receive overtime compensation when they work more than 40 hours in a week.

Although the bill would apply only to company drivers, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association contends that forcing shippers and receivers to value a trucker’s time would create change throughout the industry.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., introduced the House version of the bill, HR6359, in November.

“Truckers are an essential component of our nation’s supply chain, and compensating them appropriately is the least we can do to support them,” Van Drew said. “Let’s be fair. Let’s be decent to the hardworking men and women who do this job.”

A Senate version, S3273, was introduced by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., in November. It has five co-sponsors. LL