The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has rejected a petition for preemption of California laws and regulations requiring employers to provide employees with meal and rest breaks, according to information published in the Federal Register December 24.
FMCSA said in its notice that the petition does not satisfy the threshold requirement for preemption under 49 U.S.C. 31141(c) because the provisions at issue are not laws and regulations on commercial motor vehicle safety, but rather laws and regulations applied generally to California employers.
According to the FMCSA information, James H Hanson, Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson and Feary PC, a law firm with offices in Indianapolis IN and other US cities, petitioned FMCSA on behalf of a group of motor carriers to preempt the California statutes and rules on the employee meals and rest breaks as applied to the hours-of-service regulations.
The FMCSA notice is published online in the Federal Register.