OSHA standards on meal and rest breaks for truck drivers

January 24, 1986
The Honorable Mark O. Hatfield
United States Senator
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Senator Hatfield:
This is in response to your letter of December 27, 1985, in which you request information on behalf of Mr. Roy Riehl on safety requirements applicable to lunch and rest breaks during an employee's workday.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has neither researched nor issued standards requiring that workers be permitted lunch and rest breaks in the course of their workday. This probably is due to the fact that such breaks are generally handled as labor-management negotiating issues and do not necessarily impact safety and health on many types of jobs.
Because of Mr. Riehl's connection with the trucking industry, however, there is a possibility that two transportation statutes may apply to his situation.
Regulations promulgated under the Motor Carrier Safety Act, administered by the Department of Transportation [Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA], require that those employed in driving commercial vehicles involved in interstate commerce shall accumulate (1) no more than ten hours of driving time consecutively, (2) no more than fifteen hours of on-duty (on-the-job but not necessarily at the wheel) time following each eight hour off-duty period and, (3) no more than seventy hours of driving time within any eight day period.
[Correction 10/22/2004. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has revised the Hours-Of-Service (HOS) regulations. Please see the FMCSA web site for the current requirements.]
Violations of these rules by covered carriers (particularly if they pose a danger to worker safety or health) should be brought to the attention of the local office of the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety. In instances where an employee believes he or she has been discriminated against for making safety or health complaints relating to motor vehicle operation or work hours, a complaint may be filed with the local OSHA Area Office (see the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, Section 405).
Depending on Mr. Riehl's present situation, he may wish to take advantage of one of these options.
With respect to research, it appears little has been done on stress levels connected with uninterrupted truck driving. Nonetheless, we did discover one study produced by the International Labor Office in Geneva, Switzerland (1979), entitled, "Hours of Work and Rest Periods in Road Transport." I have enclosed a copy for your review.
I hope this information will be useful to you and your constituent, Mr. Riehl.
Sincerely,
Francis J. Frodyma, Acting Director
[Directorate of Evaluation and Analysis]
[Corrected 10/22/2004]

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[The senator's request, a separate Wage and Hour Division reply, and the worker's letter reproduced on OSHA's page are omitted here.]