DOT Laws vs. Company Rules/Regs

[RubbaDuck]

DOT laws have such a gray area maybe some of you can answer these questions...
Heres the situation. I was an hourly paid company driver. Now I am a componant paid company driver. The company switched us over to electronic log books that dont work, so we still have to use a paper log. Do we have to log when entering and exiting cities/counties? Most driving is within 100 air miles, I was told to just run a straight line for On Duty Not Driving, is this correct? We get paid for pallets off loaded, mile driven, and stops. Is this legal, to not pay for wait time? Also as an hourly we got of paid breaks as per Federal law, can they just take this away and not pay us? What other questions do I need to be asking? This is definately unfamiliar territory. Please do not answer "your just got screwed", I alreaday know that!

[vwaggs]

Duck, its not that bad. As a Roaddriver, if I work city. I hit the same thing. You don't need to log each change of county first off.
If you are delivering within a city area, you can log all driving as on duty not driving, since your making multiple stops there. For example, Cleveland Ohio encompasses about a 30 mile spread. You can log this as on duty, if you choose. When in smaller cities, use your best judgement for logging drive times and on duty times. Keep track of your miles run for the day and make a reasonable amount of logged driving time to cover it. If you leave one state and enter another, make a log notation for it. The government isn't gonna bust your chops as long you make a reasonable attempt to document your activites accurately. Make sure you comply w/DOT hours of service. If you were a clock puncher all day, all the time, you'd handle it differently.

[pro1driver]

Originally Posted by RubbaDuck

DOT laws have such a gray area maybe some of you can answer these questions...
Heres the situation. I was an hourly paid company driver. Now I am a componant paid company driver. The company switched us over to electronic log books that dont work, so we still have to use a paper log.

Do we have to log when entering and exiting cities/counties?

no, not entering or exiting. i never did.

Most driving is within 100 air miles, I was told to just run a straight line for On Duty Not Driving, is this correct?

only if you are in the same city......i tried this a few times, got nailed by the logbook lady..........BUT show at least 15 minutes driving time for the next town/city, then go back on line 4 for deliveries.....

We get paid for pallets off loaded, mile driven, and stops. Is this legal, to not pay for wait time?

yes, the company can stop paying you for waiting times.........

Also as an hourly we got of paid breaks as per Federal law, can they just take this away and not pay us?

YES, if they are docking your time as per labor law for at least 30 minutes for lunch each day, MAKE SURE YOU STOP AND TAKE THAT BREAK......!! no pay for 30 minutes, why should you work for free those minutes...??? they must have been paying you straight through your lunch and breaks. they must have gotten audited themselves.....

What other questions do I need to be asking? This is definately unfamiliar territory. Please do not answer "your just got screwed", I alreaday know that!

NO, you didn't "just get screwed".....

sorry to say, many trucking companies are cutting back on expenses, and payroll, is one of them, especially over-time. many trucking companies get into trouble as pretty much all state labor laws (forget Federal) mandate a half hour for lunch, if a person works more than a 6 hour day, i believe. it doesn't have to be a full 8 hour day to be a mandatory break of 30 minutes. ( i believe is what i remember).

[RubbaDuck]

I guess I need to ask this in a different way. As a truck driver, non-hourly (paid on the mile/stop), do I get a 15 min paid break for every 4 hrs worked as per federal law for hourly paid employees? I'm not really concerned about lunches, that's my time not compant time.

[pro1driver]

Originally Posted by RubbaDuck

I guess I need to ask this in a different way. As a truck driver, non-hourly (paid on the mile/stop), do I get a 15 min paid break for every 4 hrs worked as per federal law for hourly paid employees? I'm not really concerned about lunches, that's my time not compant time.

NO they WILL NOT pay you for taking a break. you are not hourly as you said.

had you BEEN an hourly employee, i can assure you that they WOULD BE deducting at the very least 30 minutes for your lunch break, that's why i said to take that break, why give them 30 minutes of YOUR TIME.

just take a break when you can and relax those few minutes you take. if you were to be "gung-ho" for the company all the time, i can also assure you that it will not be apprciated. in fact, they may "overload" your schedule so much, that taking a break for a few minutes will be next to impossible, as you will miss being at some stops at a particular time.

as for any "federal law", or more importantly "state law"........NO EMPLOYER HAS TO EVER PAY YOU, ME OR ANYONE......!!!

also, never "assume" federal labor laws are in place at your barn. many state labor laws superceed federal laws, and as such, state laws take the lead. (most) any federal labor laws, are simply a "guide line" for states to at least meet minimum requirements. state laws are (usually) more stringent.

i hope this cleared things up, but if not, let us know, maybe we (or i) can re-word it for you.