Overdrive

14 | Overdrive | July 2017 Logbook The Trump administration last month rescinded a 2015 U.S. Labor Department memo that changed the interpretation of federal wage and hour laws regarding owner-operators' employment status. Rescinding the memo removes pressure from carriers using own- er-operators and gives those drivers more assurance that they can remain independent contractors, said attor- ney Greg Feary, president at trans- portation law firm Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary. The July 2015 memo issued by David Weil, head of DOL's Wage and Hour Division under Presi- dent Obama, indirectly instructed businesses and state labor agencies to view owner-operators as employ- ees. "That memo functionally said anyone economically dependent on a singular entity and who were ex- clusive to that entity is an employee," Feary said. That definition applied to own- er-operators leased to carriers, most of whom are dependent on their carrier and operate exclusively for that carrier. However, there has been no concerted effort to apply that definition to change the status of all leased owner-operators. The Weil memo wasn't specific to trucking, rather targeting all segments of the U.S. economy. DOL's action does not automat- ically overturn any court rulings that have sided against independent contractor status for owner-operator truckers, but it could play a role in future cases, Feary said. – James Jaillet Contractor status memo rescinded A U.S. Labor Department memo had classified leased owner-operators as employees. The "Everyday Heroes" Ken- worth T680 was auctioned last month at Ritchie Bros. in Phoenix, culminating in a winning bid by Mike Jimenez, owner of Phoe- nix-based J&L Transportation. The net proceeds of $89,000 for Truckers Against Trafficking was the largest one-time gift ever netted in support of TAT, a nonprofit devoted to stopping human trafficking by educating and mobilizing truck drivers and rest stop employees. The T680, fully loaded with a 76-inch sleeper, 485-hp Paccar MX-13 engine and Eaton Fuller Advantage 10-speed automated trans- mission, joins 35 other trucks in the J&L fleet. Kenworth and other sponsors provided the truck. Kenworth's auction benefits Truckers Against Trafficking ARROW TRUCK SALES announced that the National Association of Independent Truckers joined its Prime National Account Program, a used truck purchasing platform. Owner-operators who drive for carriers that participate in the program qualify for a free six-month/50,000-mile warranty, a $1,000 allowance and more. Go to ArrowTruck. com/Docs/ArrowPrime.aspx. NORTHBOUND U.S. 95 lanes in Northwest Las Vegas were shifted to the outside between Ran- cho Drive and the "Spaghetti Bowl" to allow for construction of a high-occupancy vehicle flyover bridge that will link U.S. 95 and I-15. The lane shift is expected to be in place through mid-September. FORMER CENTRAL TRANSPORT employee Brian Brandt, 40, of Reno, Nevada, faced several charges after he allegedly stole a tractor-trailer from the Sparks, Nevada-based company that fired him. He's also charged with backing the trail- er into the front of the Moonlight Bunny Ranch, a legal brothel in Nevada, causing about $400,000 in damage to the building. No one was injured.

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• COVER STORY: Jump start The electrified truck concept has taken on a real life, with players large and small vying for future shares of the Class 8 market. It’s not only large fleets that are placing orders.
• Presenting logs at roadside Running with an e-logs device is one thing. Communicating e-log data to an inspector is quite another. With five months to go, states’ data transfer plans vary widely, and an ambitious federal program remains untested.
• Broker ratings Not only have the internet and mobile technology made finding loads quicker and easier than ever, those same resources also can provide more in-depth, current information on broker performance.
• Drive Test: Best of both worlds Volvo’s regional workhorse tractor, the VNM, having been on the market for more than two decades, was overdue for a refresh. But Volvo designers did much more than modernize its body lines in producing th
• Options few after ELD challenge stalls.
• Pulse: “The real problem” with ELDs.
• Another reason shippers should deal direct.
• Reader majority opposes hair-sample testing.
• Obama-era contractor status memo rescinded.
• Trucker Talent Search finalists headed for Dallas.
• FMCSA study to assess split sleeper options.
• GATS to showcase free music and famous trucks.
• “Service and sacrifice” ’88 Freightliner COE.
• Owner-operator’s self-built “RisslerBilt” 379.
• “88 Mike” Morgan earns first Bandit Series win.
• Reader Rigs: ’13 T800 a stainless dream; ’90 K100 a farming COE; salute “The General” ’17 W900L Icon; ’96 W900L pretty in pink; respect “Big Tex” ’15 122SD; ’02 W900L goes by “Black Betty.”
• BUSINESS Log data might not cover IFTA, IRP.
• Gear Guide All-position tire, mudflap, locks, more.
• FLEET NEWS Decker’s Driver of the Year gets Harley.
• 5 APPS FOR THAT Podcast players for on-the-road listening.
• TWO-BUCK TRUCKERS Wendy Parker backs a driver’s plan to highlight trucking issues and show the general public how much the industry contributes to the economy.