Are intrastate truck drivers exempt from overtime?

A truck driver may be working only within California, intrastate, and still be exempt from overtime. Determining that a driver is or is not exempt from California overtime regulations does not depend on “intrastate” v. “interstate” operation, but requires more specific inquiries regarding the size of the vehicle and the use of the vehicle.

Most of the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) orders provide an overtime exemption for drivers whose hours of service are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

Criteria

The DOT regulates vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more that are engaged in interstate commerce as defined. This includes most long-haul trucks. The CHP regulates the following vehicles regardless of whether the vehicle is engaged in interstate or intrastate operation:

• Motor trucks with more than two axles, truck tractors and trailers;
• Two-axle motor trucks when towing a trailer with a combined length of 40 feet;
• Buses, school buses and farm labor vehicles;
• Two-axle trucks of 26,000 pounds or less, transporting hazardous material;
• Two-axle trucks with a gross vehicle weight of 26,001 pounds.

Determining Overtime

First determine whether the truck is regulated by the DOT. If so, the overtime exemption applies. 

• Is the gross vehicle weight of the truck between 10,001 and 26,000 pounds? This weight appears on an identification plate provided by the manufacturer and on the Department of Motor Vehicles registration. If the truck weighs more than 26,000 pounds, it is also regulated by the CHP.
• Is the truck engaged in interstate commerce? Does the truck cross state lines, or have the transported goods crossed state lines?

If the truck is not subject to DOT regulations, determine whether the CHP regulates the hours of service pursuant to the criteria above. If so, the overtime exemption applies.

The exemption applies only to drivers whose duty is to regularly drive the vehicle. Relief or assistant drivers would be exempt as long as they drive the vehicle during the workday.

The exemption would not apply, and overtime may be owed, if the employee does not perform driving duties during the day. If the driver performs non-driving and driving duties in the same workday, only the non-driving duties are used to calculate any possible overtime due.