Page 40 - ATR 6 2018 web

Sleeping on the Job

(and how to get paid for it)

How one judge’s decision is raising concerns across the trucking industry

By Neemah Esmaeilpour
and Greg Jones
Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP

Driver fatigue. Sleep apnea.
Limited highway rest areas. Over the
past decade, the trucking industry has
grappled with more than its share of
sleep-related issues. But recently a new
sleep-related issue has emerged. And
to many trucking executives, it seems
beyond their wildest dreams. Simply
put, the issue is whether a driver can
demand to be paid for literally “sleeping
on the job.”
Several federal cases that have
addressed this issue have concluded
“no,” carriers do not have to pay drivers
while they sleep, reasoning that federal
regulations clearly state that a driver is
not working “when he is permitted to
sleep in adequate facilities furnished by
the employer.”
But U.S. District Judge Timothy
Brooks of the Western District of
Arkansas recently disagreed. And his
decision has caught the eye of the
industry and those who bring suits
against its members. ONE SPECIFIC STEP TO TAKE IS TO MAKE SURE YOUR
COMPANY HANDBOOKS AND JOB DESCRIPTIONS
THE BROWNE DECISION EXPRESSLY STATE THAT UNINTERRUPTED SLEEP
The case is Browne v. PAM
Transport, Inc., a driver class action TIME AND MEAL BREAKS DO NOT CONSTITUTE
filed against the Tontitown, Ark.-based HOURS WORKED. IF THEY DO NOT, THEN ALL OF
carrier in 2016. Roughly 3,000 drivers THE HOURS IN ANY 24-HOUR PERIOD WILL BE
have joined the lawsuit, seeking unpaid CONSIDERED WORK HOURS.
wages for some of the time they spent
in their truck’s sleeper birth. The driv-
ers’ attorneys argued that, if they were
required to be on the road for 24 hours

40 Issue 6 2018 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT