The U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a claim from 11 truck drivers who sought overtime pay for work performed over an 18-month period.
The 8th Circuit upheld a lower court ruling Aug. 22 that men did not qualify for the additional pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act because they fell into an exemption for motor carriers.
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“We are very pleased that Eighth Circuit Court affirmed the trial court’s ruling on summary judgment applying the motor carrier exemption. This non-dissenting opinion confirms the importance and necessity of the motor carrier exemption for interstate carriers, particularly regarding overtime wage claims,” said attorney Brent Langdon of Langdon & Davis.
Tutle and Tutle Trucking, Inc., which is based in Cleburne, Texas, provides interstate carrier services for hydraulic fracturing companies.
The company hired the 11 men to work out of Arkansas, according to the court filing. In 2012, Tutle and Tutle assigned the men to drive trucks for Schlumberger Ltd. under a contractual agreement between the two companies. According to both sides, the drivers’ primary job was to haul frac sand used in hydraulic fracturing.
The truck drivers alleged that they were entitled to overtime because Schlumberger does not fall into the motor carrier exemption, but the circuit court ruled that the company is an exempt carrier through the joint employer status with Tutle and Tutle Trucking.
The men also argued that they made interstate trips less than 1% of the time and thus did not fall into the motor carrier exemption on interstate commerce, but the court ruled that the proportion of their time was irrelevant and they had a reasonable expectation to drive interstate routes based upon the services of their employer.
