Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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commercial carrier journal | july 2018 19 JOURNAL NEWS Supreme Court won't hear J.B. Hunt appeal in driver break lawsuit J .B. Hunt (CCJ Top 250, No. 6) could be the latest carrier to be hit with a major payout to drivers because of a 2014 federal court decision. The U.S. Supreme Court on June 8 said it will not hear a challenge to a lawsuit brought by drivers against the Lowell, Ark.-based company, meaning the case will head to trial later this year. At issue in the suit are California's meal and rest break laws that require employers to provide paid rest breaks to drivers and allow them to take meal breaks. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2014 ruled in a deci- sion involving Penske Logistics and its drivers that carriers, even those operat- ing interstate, must provide drivers the California-required breaks. The 2014 decision has created a wave of lawsuits from driv- ers against carriers operating in California. The drivers often have scored big settlements from carriers that did not comply with the state's labor laws. Moves in Congress, none of which have succeeded so far, have sought to mitigate the effects of the 2014 Penske decision by attempting to pass a provision that reasserts the federal government's role in managing driv- ers' work schedules. The Denham Amendment has popped up in various forms in recent years, though it has not been able to clear several congressional hurdles. Lawmakers in the House at press time continued their attempts to attach the amendment to legislation before Congress. The case against J.B. Hunt, Ortega v. J.B. Hunt, originally was filed in 2007 and finally is set to go to trial later this year. The class-action liti- gation seeks back pay for J.B. Hunt drivers who were not awarded paid breaks by the carrier. – James Jaillet VA medical examiners now have easier path to National Registry T he U.S. Department of Transpor- tation soon will make it easier for Department of Veterans Affairs medical examiners to be listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, the list of examiners from which truck drivers must receive their DOT physicals. Examiners from the VA always were allowed to be listed on the reg- istry, but the new rule allows VA examiners to complete the certifica- tion process entirely online, making it easier for them to enter the registry and begin performing DOT physicals. The 2015-enacted FAST Act high- way bill and January's Jobs for Our Heroes Act both required the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to find an "alternative process for qualified VA examiners to be listed." Such qualified examiners include advanced practice nurses, chiroprac- tors, doctors of medicine and oste- opathy, physician assistants and other medical professionals employed by the VA. A final rule published June 11 allows qualified VA examiners, begin- ning Aug. 10, to complete training and pass a test provided by FMCSA and administered through an online training system operated by the VA to become certified registry examiners. Regulations currently require examin- ers to complete training in person or online and pass a test administered at an FMCSA-approved testing center. Qualified VA examiners must be licensed, certified or registered in their respective state to perform physical exams, be familiar with com- mercial driver's license medical stan- dards and never have been found to have fraudulently awarded a medical certificate. Certified VA medical examin- ers will only be allowed to conduct medical exams and issue Medical Examiner's Certificates to truckers who are military veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare system. FMCSA says the rule also will reduce costs for VA examiners to be listed on the registry. – Matt Cole The U.S. Supreme Court said it will not hear a challenge to a lawsuit brought by drivers against Lowell, Ark.-based J.B. Hunt. Certified VA medical examiners will only be allowed to issue certificates to truckers who are military veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare system.