Resch v. Krapf’s Coaches, Inc., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 7810 (3d. Cir. May 12, 2015)

A driver who could reasonably be expected to drive interstate falls within the Motor Carrier Exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act, even if the driver did not actually drive interstate

The plaintiff filed a lawsuit on behalf of a class of drivers, allegedly that the company’s failure to pay them overtime was a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. It was undisputed that the company had multiple routes to which the drivers could be assigned (including four requiring interstate travel), trained its drivers to work on multiple routes, and retained the ability to discipline drivers for failing to work on a particular route. It was also undisputed that approximately half of the certified class was never assigned to work on an interstate route and that several other drivers worked less than five shifts in which they were required to travel on an interstate route.

The Third Circuit upheld summary judgment in favor of the company, finding that the company’s drivers fell within the Motor Carrier Exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act and were not, as a result, entitled to overtime. In so holding, the court determined that the regulations “focus on the ‘class of work’ performed by the employees occupying the same position…and the likelihood of the employer distributing those duties among the employees in question.” As a result, the Third Circuit noted that the “relevant inquiry is whether Plaintiffs reasonably could have expected to drive interstate.” Based upon the training the drivers received, the company’s assignments provided to the drivers and the overall adherence to the Department of Transportation regulations, the Third Circuit expressly noted that, because the company “is an employer under the jurisdiction of the DOT and Plaintiffs are members of a class of employees who could reasonably be expected to drive interstate routes as part of their duties, the [Motor Carrier] exemption to the FLSA applies and plaintiffs are ineligible for FLSA overtime wages.”

Case Law Alerts, 3rd Quarter, July 2015

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