Beginning November 1, 2012, the informed compliance period of the Canada Border Services Agency's ("CBSA") eManifest program begins. eManifest is the third phase of the Advance Commercial Information ("ACI") program, which enhances CBSA's ability to identify potential threats to Canada while facilitating the movement of low-risk shipments across the border. eManifest requires motor carriers, freight forwarders, and importers to electronically transmit cargo, conveyance, house bill/supplementary cargo, and importer data to the CBSA prior to arrival at the border.
Throughout the informed compliance period, which lasts from November 1, 2012 through May, 2013, the CBSA expects carriers to become eManifest-compliant. During this six-month period, the CBSA will not deny entry to Canada or impose penalties for eManifest non-compliance; however, beginning in May, 2013, non-compliant carriers will be subject to penalties and will be denied entry. Additional information on the implementation of eManifest can be found at http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/prog/manif/implementation-eng.html.
With the implementation of eManifest, highway carriers transporting goods into Canada are required to transmit cargo and conveyance data electronically to the CBSA prior to arrival. The cargo and conveyance data must be received and validated by the CBSA a minimum of one hour before the shipment arrives at the border.
On March 25, 2011, Governor Herbert of Utah signed into law HB 73, declaring indemnity agreements in motor carrier contracts void as against public policy. Utah becomes the twenty-sixth state to enact such legislation, with seven additional states having similar legislation on the table. Generally, anti indemnification laws seek to limit a shipper's ability to shift all of its potential liability (such as for cargo loss and damage) to the motor carrier through contract.
The FMCSA today issued a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding revisions to its hours of service regulations ("HOS") for drivers of commercial motor vehicles. Transportation Secretary LaHood noted that concern over commercial vehicle safety necessitates changes to HOS to ensure that "drivers are rested, alert and focused on safety while on the job."
The proposal, available
here, maintains the current 34-hour "restart" but requires the restart to include two consecutive off-duty periods from midnight to 6 a.m. The proposal also limits a driver's ability to use the restart to once in a seven-day period. Finally, the proposal requires drivers to complete all driving within a 14-hour workday, with all on-duty activities being completed in 13 hours to allow for a one hour break. Civil penalties for violating the proposed rule include (1) up to $2,750 per offense to drivers, and (2) up to $11,000 per offense to motor carriers permitting drivers to violate the rule.
The FMCSA seeks comment on whether drivers should be limited to 10 or 11 hours of daily driving time.
The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2010 with a 60-day notice period thereafter.
OSHA has published a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding a revision to its Walking-Working Surfaces and Fall Protection standards at 29 C.F.R. Part 1910. Prior versions of these regulations specifically excluded motor carriers from having to implement fall protection devices for employees working on top of motor vehicles. The current version neither specifically excludes nor includes motor carriers. The proposed rule seeks comment on whether to require motor carriers to implement these safety measures. Moreover, OSHA seeks comment on how exactly to define "motor vehicle" for purposes of the proposed rule.
As it stands, the proposed rule neither excludes nor includes motor carriers, but this may change once the comment period closes on August 23, 2010. The full text of the proposed rule is available here.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ("FMCSA") just released new Unified Carrier Registration ("UCR") fees for 2010. The fees apply to interstate private carriers, for-hire carriers, freight forwarders, brokers, and leasing companies. Though the new fees are higher than in past years, they are lower than those proposed by the FMCSA last year. The new fee schedule for motor carriers is as follows:
- Up to two vehicles - the fee is raised from $39 to $76
- Three to five vehicles - from $116 to $227
- Six to 20 vehicles - from $231 to $452
- 21 to 100 vehicles - from $806 to $1,576
- 101 to 1,000 vehicles - from $3,840 to $7,511
- 1,001 to 200,000 vehicles - from $37,500 to $73,346
Brokers, freight forwarders, or leasing companies that are not also motor carriers pay a flat fee of $76. Enforcement on interstate motor carriers not in compliance with 2010 UCR fee payment begins July 15, 2010.
Legislation recently introduced in both the House and Senate contemplates an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") that would impose more stringent regulations regarding employee, and more specifically, driver classification. The Employee Misclassification Prevention Act seeks to deter employers from improperly classifying a driver as an independent contractor versus employee by:
- Ensuring that employers keep records that reflect the accurate status of each worker as an employee or non-employee and clarifying that employers violate the Fair Labor Standards Act when they misclassify workers.
- Increasing penalties on employers who misclassify their employees and are found to have violated employees' overtime or minimum wage rights.
- Requiring employers to notify workers of their classification as an employee or non-employee.
- Creating an "employee rights web site" to inform workers about their federal and state wage and hour rights.
- Providing protections to workers who are discriminated against because they have sought to be accurately classified.
According to proponents of the legislation, employee misclassification denies workers the benefits that they would otherwise be entitled to including minimum wage and overtime, workers' compensation, and unemployment insurance. The legislation would task the Department of Labor with monitoring the states' efforts in auditing and imposing penalties against employers that misclassify employees.
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