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Unfortunately, many of those employees were not compensated for their long hours because of the Motor Carrier Exemption of the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA). However, this all has changed after the historic decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that all employees should be paid a minimum wage overtime rate even if they fall under the Motor Carrier Exemption.

So, for now, even if you are exempt from overtime pay under the Motor Carrier Exemption, the good news is that you are still eligible for overtime pay in New York, albeit at a lower rate than non-exempt employees. Here is more on who is exempt from overtime pay under the Motor Carrier Exemption, how New York armored vehicle drivers succeeded in winning their lawsuit for overtime pay and what overtime rate is now available for the FLSA exempt truck drivers and mechanics in New York.

The Motor Carrier Exemption identifies certain categories of employees involved in the transportation of property or passengers who are not eligible for overtime pay under the FLSA Act.

According to the Motor Carrier Exemption, the exempt employees are those who are:

• employed by persons providing motor vehicles transportation for compensation, known as motor carriers, and other persons transporting property or passengers by motor vehicles, known as motor private carriers,
• drivers, driver’s helpers, loaders or mechanics whose job duties affect the safety of operation of motor vehicles in transportation on public highways in interstate or foreign commerce who are not covered by “the small vehicle exception” (e.g., those who operate vehicles that weigh 10,000 lbs or less).

Thus, employees who fall under this definition, for example, those operating vehicles used for interstate commerce that weigh above 10,000 lbs, are not eligible for overtime pay under the Federal Labor Standards Act.

However, this all has changed for New York after the employees of an armored vehicle service have brought a lawsuit against the employer, claiming overtime compensation under the New Labor Laws. The workers admitted that they were exempt under the Motor Carrier Exemption but claimed themselves eligible for a minimum wage overtime compensation under the New York Labor Laws.

Although the claim was initially dismissed by the New York District Court, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the employees. In its decision, the Court ruled that employees who were exempt under the Motor Carrier Exemption are still entitled to overtime compensation at the rate of one and a half times the New York State minimum wage.

The case had strong repercussions across the industry. For now, other New York employees who are exempt from overtime pay under the Motor Carrier Exemption, such as salesmen, partsmen or mechanics primarily engaged in selling or servicing vehicles, are also entitled to minimum wage overtime pay.