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vides an exemption from the Act's overtime requirements (but not its minimum wage requirements) for "any employee with respect to whom the Secretary of Transportation has power to establish qualifcations and maximum hours of service" under the federal Motor Carrier Act. The purpose of this provision is to avoid having two federal agen- cies regulating the work hours of the same employees. Essentially, the Motor Carrier Exemption means that employers need not pay overtime to route drivers of motor vehicles that are carrying goods in interstate or foreign commerce or to those mechanics whose duty is to service motor vehicles used to carry goods in interstate or foreign commerce by keeping them in good and safe working condition. Traditionally, based upon this exemption, operators were told their route drivers were exempt from being paid overtime so long as 1) their routes crossed state lines or 2) the vending goods were delivered from out-of-state distributors and the goods did not come to rest in the warehouse before the route driver loaded his/her truck and delivered the goods to the customers' vending machines. While this still holds true, there is one essential added component that many operators are unaware of: do the trucks the route drivers are driv- ing having a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 10,001 pounds or above? If the answer is NO, then it doesn't matter whether their routes cross state lines or where the goods come from because they now do not fall under the Motor Carrier Exemp- tion and the driver must now be paid overtime. Please note that some states (i.e., California, Colorado, Hawaii or Maine) either do not recognize the Motor Carrier Exemption at all or have certain additional require- ments that must be followed, and, consequently, even if your trucks are 10,001+ pounds, the route drivers must be paid overtime. Overtime can't be paid with commissions What does being paid overtime truly mean for non-exempt route drivers, especially in an industry where a 40 hour workweek is not the norm? Just paying commissions doesn't get you there and neither does paying some additional bonuses or incentives. If the route drivers do not meet the test under the Motor Carrier Exemp- tion, it means that after they work 40 hours in a week (in some states New State Law Issues For 2014 Federal laws are not your only worry — depending on which state you operate — here are some new laws you should keep an eye out for in your city and state during 2014: MEDICAL MARIJUANA Many states have legal- ized the medical use of marijuana — federal law has not. As employers, this does not mean you need to tolerate its use — especially in a safety sensi- tive position like your route drivers. Be sure your drug and alcohol test- ing policy and program addresses this use so there is no doubt that the use of medical marijuana will not be tolerated for route drivers and like positions. CONCEALED CARRYING OF WEAPONS In many states, although employees may have an individual right to carry their concealed weapons, as an em- ployer, you may protect your employ- ees, customers and premises. Be sure to have the updated and proper signage posted at your facility. MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES The Motor Carrier Exemption does not get you around hav- ing to pay minimum wag- es to employees. Many states are increasing their mini- mum wages above and beyond the federal requirement during 2014 (if they haven't already). Don't get in trouble with the Department of Labor by not paying employees the minimum wage for your state. Many payroll services will have a minimum threshold in the event an employee's wages fall short during a pay period week. SAME SEX MARRIAGES Does your state recognize same sex marriages? Civil unions? If so, you will need to offer your employees in a same sex marriage the same ben- efts and rights as those employees in opposite sex marriages. For example, a same sex spouse will be considered a family member for purposes of Family Medical Leave, health benefts and bereavement leave. Consistency will be key here. "BAN THE BOX" Do your employment applica- tions ask about criminal background checks? In the city in which you operate, this may be prohibited! Many locales are "banning the box" where employers ask applicants to check off about their prior arrests or convictions. Many of the laws only allow you to do so once a conditional offer of employment has been made. Be careful about arrests as most states do not allow employers to rely on an applicant's or employee's arrest records. I-9 CHANGED IN 2014 Confrm you are using the most updated version of the Employment Eligibility Form: www.uscis.gov/ sites/default/fles/fles/form/i-9.pdf. $ $ February 2014 VendingMarketWatch.com Automatic Merchandiser 29 O V E R T I M E C O M P E N S A T I O N autm_28-31_0214Pay_F.indd 29 2/4/14 8:51 AM