HOUSE BILL REPORT

SSB 5746

As Amended by the House

BYSenate Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators Sellar, Smith, Owen and Matson)

Exempting interstate truck drivers from overtime wage requirements.

House Committe on Commerce & Labor

Majority Report:  Do pass with amendments.  (11)

      Signed by Representatives Vekich, Chair; Cole, Vice Chair; Patrick, Ranking Republican Member; Jones, R. King, Leonard, O'Brien, Prentice, Smith, Walker and Wolfe.

House Staff:Chris Cordes (786-7117)

AS PASSED HOUSE APRIL 6, 1989

BACKGROUND:

In 1988, the Washington State Supreme Court held that the federal Motor Carrier Act did not preempt the application of state overtime requirements to interstate carrier employees.  The overtime provisions of the state Minimum Wage Act require employers to pay one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for all hours in a work week that exceed 40 hours.

SUMMARY:

The overtime provisions of the state Minimum Wage Act do not apply to individuals employed as truck drivers or bus drivers who are subject to the federal Motor Carrier Act if the driver is compensated under a system with overtime pay that is reasonably equivalent to the overtime pay required by the Minimum Wage Act.

Fiscal Note:      Available.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Mark McDermott, Department of Labor and Industries; Cindy Zehnder, Joint Council of Teamsters; and Marty Sangster, Washington Trucking Association.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The bill represents a compromise to address the application of overtime rates in an industry that has traditionally included overtime in the compensation system.  Under the department's administration of the bill, employers will be required to have a written compensation policy available for department evaluation.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.