New Jersey Truckers: Unpaid Overtime Law

Although federal overtime law may exclude truck drivers from overtime pay, New Jersey overtime laws for truckers may offer more protection for truck drivers of New Jersey-based employers.

New Jersey overtime law states that employees must receive time-and-a-half compensation for hours worked in excess of 40 during a single workweek, with certain exemptions. Therefore, unless a New Jersey truck driver meets a specific overtime exemption, their employer must pay them overtime wages. Any hours worked over 40 in a single workweek is considered overtime and each overtime hour must be paid at a rate of 1.5 times the worker’s regular rate of pay.

Denied overtime as a truck driver in New Jersey? Your employer may have violated overtime law. Fill out our free case review form today to find out if you are entitled to financial compensation.

New Jersey Overtime Law for Truck Drivers

While truck drivers may be ineligible for overtime pay under federal wage and hour law, New Jersey laws regarding this overtime exemption are narrow. A court recently upheld the ruling which found that the New Jersey trucking overtime exemption only applies to companies primarily engaged in trucking or moving and storage, and not to businesses that “transport goods incident to a different business purpose.” Should federal and state overtime laws conflict, the worker must be afforded the benefit of the law that is most favorable to them. Therefore, even though a truck driver cannot, under federal overtime law, collect overtime pay, he or she may still be entitled to overtime pay under New Jersey overtime law.

There are several ways in which an employer can violate federal or state overtime laws. For instance, a New Jersey-based company, which pays its truckers by the mile rather than by the hour, may be in violation of overtime law if they pay their truck drivers the same amount per mile even for hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. Furthermore, if an employer intentionally misclassifies their truckers as contract drivers, they may be in violation of overtime law. If you suspect your employer is violating overtime law, contact an overtime lawyer to learn your legal rights.

Overtime Lawyers for New Jersey Truck Drivers

Our overtime attorneys are ready to review claims from truck drivers of New Jersey-based employers who were denied overtime pay. Our overtime lawyers are evaluating claims from the following types of truck drivers:

• Commercial truck drivers
• Delivery services truck drivers
• Route drivers
• Driver/sales workers
• Package delivery drivers

This list is not exhaustive, as several types of truck drivers may be eligible for overtime pay under New Jersey law. If you have been denied overtime pay as a truck driver for a NJ-based company, contact our overtime attorneys for a free evaluation of your claim.