ATA Praises DOL Opinion Letter on Sleeper Berth Time

Time spent in the sleeper berth does not count as compensable time

The American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear thanked the Department of Labor for issuing an opinion clarifying that time spent in the sleeper berth does not count as compensable time.

“ATA welcomes today’s opinion letter from DOL Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton that concluded time spent by a commercial driver in the sleeper berth does not count as compensable hours under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, unless the driver is actually performing work or on call.

“This opinion, which is consistent with decades-old DOL regulations, the weight of judicial authority, and the long understanding of the trucking industry, clears up confusion created by two recent court decisions that called the compensability of sleeper berth time into question.

“ATA commends Acting Secretary Pizzella and Administrator Stanton for adopting a straightforward, plain-language reading of the law, rather than the burdensome alternative interpretation embraced by those outlier decisions.

“ATA also commends the Department for making guidance like this available through opinion letters, which provide an opportunity for stakeholders to better understand their compliance obligations prospectively, rather than settling such matters only after the fact, through costly and wasteful litigation.”

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