Truck Drivers Overtime Calculator

For decades, commercial truck drivers have worked 50, 60, or 70 hours a week without receiving time-and-a-half overtime. This widespread practice is not a collective payroll oversight—it is rooted in a Depression-era statutory exemption known as the Motor Carrier Act Exemption.

However, significant statutory reforms, landmark judicial rulings, and state labor codes have carved vital exceptions into this rule. Tens of thousands of parcel couriers, delivery van operators, hotshot drivers, and local intrastate haulers are legally non-exempt and owed full 1.5× overtime pay.

1. The Motor Carrier Exemption: 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(1)

Under FLSA Section 13(b)(1) (29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(1)), the overtime provisions of Section 207 do not apply to any employee for whom the Secretary of Transportation has authority to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service under 49 U.S.C. § 31502.

Under 29 C.F.R. Part 782, the Department of Labor applies a strict two-pronged legal test to evaluate the exemption:

1. The Employer Test: The driver must be employed by a common, contract, or private motor carrier operating commercial vehicles in interstate commerce.
2. The Employee Safety Duties Test: The employee's work must directly affect the safe operation of motor vehicles transporting property or passengers on public highways in interstate commerce.

When both prongs are satisfied, the employee is exempt from the 40-hour overtime requirement. Drivers may be kept on duty up to the legal safety maximums established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)—such as the 60-hour in 7-day or 70-hour in 8-day rolling rules—with zero statutory requirement for 1.5× overtime pay.

2. The Small-Vehicle Exception: SAFETEA-LU § 306 (10,000 lbs GVWR)

The most significant federal reform for transportation drivers was enacted in Section 306 of the SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-244).

This small-vehicle exception applies to drivers of:

• Cargo vans and Sprinter vans (such as Ford Transits, Mercedes Sprinters, or Ram ProMasters under 10k GVWR);
• Package courier delivery vehicles and route parcel trucks;
• Light hotshot pickup trucks hauling trailers where the combined gross vehicle weight rating does not exceed 10,000 lbs.

The Hazardous Materials / Passenger Exception: If a vehicle weighing 10,000 lbs or less transports hazardous materials requiring placards under 49 U.S.C. § 5103, or is designed to transport 9 or more passengers for compensation, the vehicle remains subject to USDOT safety jurisdiction, and the driver remains exempt from overtime.

3. Intrastate Drivers: Why Crossing State Lines Matters

The federal Motor Carrier Exemption only applies if the transportation occurs in interstate or foreign commerce. If a driver operates entirely within a single state, transporting goods that originated inside that state and will remain inside that state (e.g. local construction hauling, ready-mix concrete, intrastate food delivery), the Secretary of Transportation has no jurisdiction under 49 U.S.C. § 31502.

Intrastate drivers are therefore NOT exempt under § 213(b)(1) and are protected by standard FLSA 40-hour overtime rules, unless an independent state statute exempts them.

4. State Law Overrides: The California Exemption Exception

States are legally permitted to enact labor standards that are more protective of workers than federal law.

California Labor Code § 510 & IWC Wage Order 9-2001: California does not adopt the broad federal motor carrier exemption for drivers within the state. Drivers covered by California Wage Order 9 are entitled to:

• 1.5× Overtime: For hours worked beyond 8 up to 12 in a single workday, and for all hours worked over 40 in a single workweek;
• 2.0× Double Time: For hours worked beyond 12 in a single workday;
• 7th Consecutive Day Overtime: 1.5× for the first 8 hours on the 7th consecutive day of a workweek, and 2.0× for hours beyond 8.

To learn more about California daily overtime and double-time calculations, explore ourCalifornia Labor Code § 510 Overtime Guide →.