DENHAM AMENDMENT

BACKGROUND
​In 1994, Congress enacted the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (“FAAAA”) to prevent states from undermining federal deregulation of interstate commerce through a patchwork of state regulations. Ultimately FAAAA deregulated the motor-carrier industry to promote competition and market-driven efficiency by prohibiting a 50-state patchwork of rules that would otherwise burden interstate commerce. The Conference Report on FAAAA notes “the sheer diversity of [state] regulatory schemes is a huge problem for national and regional carriers attempting to conduct a standard way of doing business.” A case was brought in California court against Penske Logistics that claimed the company was violating California’s meal and rest break laws. A district court dismissed the claims as preempted under the FAAAA, but on appeal, the Ninth Circuit held in Dilts v. Penske Logistics, LLC that the FAAAA does not preempt California’s meal and rest break laws as applied to motor carries. That ruling is contrary to the statute’s deregulatory imperative. . It should also be noted that breaks are already specifically regulated by FMCSA hours of service regulations. The resulting significant burden on the transportation industry is a serious threat to the free-market, competitive system that the FAAAA sought to create. And the resulting legal confusion and litigation will severely stunt commerce and affect drivers and shippers alike.

SUMMARY
This amendment seeks to clarify the intent of Congress and ensure the motor-carrier industry can operate under one standard when engaging in interstate commerce in accordance with the nationally uniform regulations promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This amendment will pre-empt a patchwork of up to 50 different state meal and rest break laws to provide certainty for regional and national carriers doing business. This amendment does not impede on the rights of drivers to take meal and rest breaks. It simply ensures that drivers have the flexibility to take meal and rest breaks as they see fit and as required by federal regulations, not at arbitrarily pre-determined times set by 50 different states. Forcing drivers to exit the road or pull over in unsafe conditions ultimately harms their earning potential and presents an enormous safety risk for other drivers sharing the road. This amendment also clarifies the preemptive intent of Congress to ensure that motor carriers can continue the industry-standard practice of paying drivers what’s known as a “piece-rate” for movement of the load and all tasks associated with the move. It does not affect the requirement that drivers receive total pay that meets or exceeds the locally-applicable hourly minimum wage rate, multiplied by the total number of hours worked.