Employers in the trucking industry have repeatedly tried to challenge the applicability of California’s stringent meal and rest break laws to their workers, in light of the practical difficulties of complying with those rules and its conflict with contrary federal regulations. On December 28, 2018, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) issued a preemption order that expressly held that California’s meal and rest break laws do not apply to drivers of commercial motor vehicles subject to the federal hours of service (“HOS”) requirements. It has since been clear that this preemption order applied to long-haul drivers (drivers that generally complete trips outside of a 150-mile radius from their work location) in California. Espinoza v. Hepta Run, Inc., 2022 WL 167770 (2022) now directly addressed the open question of whether federal law also preempts California’s meal periods and rest break requirements for short-haul drivers (drivers that generally drive within a 150-mile radius from their work location), in the affirmative.

Plaintiff Espinoza worked as a short-haul truck driver. He filed a lawsuit alleging, among other wage and hour claims, that he was not provided the opportunity to take California-compliant meal periods and rest breaks. His employer, Hepta Run, Inc. filed a motion for summary adjudication, asserting that Espinoza’s meal and rest period claims were preempted by FMCSA’s preemption order. The trial court denied Hepta Run’s motion for...

Read Full Story: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/federal-regulations-trump-california-s-3872...