Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/835233
70 commercial carrier journal | june 2017 California labor laws, ELDs, technology impact payroll, settlement processes BY AARON HUFF C alifornia has a reputation for passing hotly debated laws that soon are adopted by other states and the federal government. Recent changes to its labor laws may be no excep- tion. e laws have created new administrative headaches and legal risks for California-based eets with intrastate operations. e problems may not stop at the state's borders. At the heart of the issue is piece-rate pay. While an in- dustry standard exists for interstate eets that pay drivers based on load mileages, revenue percentages or at rates, the practice is under scrutiny by California courts. Since November 2016, Walmart, Schneider Logistics and XPO have been ordered to pay millions to settle class-ac- tion lawsuits from drivers. e lawsuits argue the labor laws compel the eets to account for all driver work-related activities in their pay, even if the activities – such as fuel- ing, vehicle inspections and waiting for dispatch – are not considered productive. Going to an hourly pay structure is not necessary the solution. Fleets are required to give drivers relief from all duties to take meal and rest breaks, or otherwise pay them. e state's overtime laws also are complex: A 10-hour break that drivers normally would log as o -duty may be counted as work if drivers are required to stay with the vehicle. e state's labor laws may apply only to intrastate opera- tions for now, but they set a new precedent for accounting for drivers' time and activities. On a national level, the electronic logging device mandate could become a similar impetus to restructure driver pay. ELDs can record more than on-duty and drive time. Driv- ers can electronically record fueling, yard moves, weighing loads, vehicle inspections, loading and unloading, meetings with eet managers and more activities. Fleets can use this and other data on work activities from ELDs, telematics devices, mobile applications and various back-o ce driver payroll so ware systems. Having more driver activity and performance data not only can help navi- gate the complexities but also provide eets with opportuni- ties to innovate and create new pay programs and incentives. Automating payroll Activity-based driver pay already is common among private and for-hire eets with dedicated pickup-and-delivery routes. Activity pay helps these eets stay competitive with – and even exceed – the pay of over-the-road operations with more miles and no-touch freight, says Jerry Robertson, chief tech- nology o cer of Bolt, an Internet-based eet management and dispatch so ware provider. Bolt's so ware is designed to capture a variety of data on ship- per load details – miles, hours of service, arrivals and departures – by integrating with mobile eet management systems. Using these data sources, Bolt can compare driver activ- ities and performance with planned dispatch and routing for miles, loads, stops, pickups, deliveries, fueling, dropped trailers and more.