Supreme Court Denies Hearing on ELD Lawsuit
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s request for a rejection of a federal rule requiring electronic logging devices will not be heard by the Supreme Court, the court announced on June 12.
The decision by the court essentially clears the way for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s ELD mandate to take effect at the end of the year.
OOIDA had argued the mandate would subject drivers to potential “warrantless, suspicionless” searches and seizures. The group also argued the rule would violate the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment guaranteeing “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.”
“An ELD integrates with a vehicle’s engine and uses GPS technology to automatically record the date, the time, the vehicle’s geographic location, the number of engine hours, the number of vehicle miles and identifying information about the driver and the vehicle,” OOIDA said in its petition to the high court for a writ of certiorari.
On Oct. 31, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit denied OOIDA’s request for a review.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it completed the ELD rule as a way to provide greater compliance with hours-of-service regulations for truck drivers. The rule’s compliance date is Dec. 18.
