Paid time for DOT physical?

HRratrace

Question regarding the DOT physicals that truck drivers are required to do every 2 years...
Does anyone know if this is compensable time???

marc

I say yes.

LarryC

We pay for the physical and the time since we require our drivers to be DOT certified. We, as a business, are also required to keep "Driver Qualification Files"(DQF's) on all our drivers. Part of the DQF must be the DOT physical paperwork.

pork1

HRratrace: The logic is the person is using his or her personal time for company business. We pay for the time spent undergoing this company requirement and we pay for the complete physical.

Now we have several Class A licensed truck drivers, who are not employed by us as truck drivers. When these employees go and get their physical done, just to keep their license in compliance then they not only do it on personal time but they also pay for the entire physical. We do allow the individual to use his/her sick hours or vacation time for this purpose.

PORK

lhill

We pay for time off for DOT physicals and charge time (and cost of physical) to safety and training.

zen

We also pay time off for the time and the physical whether the employee is currently using the license for us or not. We do this to keep a larger pool of trained employees available as needed.

We have a budget for physicals that includes pre-hire, DOT, and Respirator Evaluations as well as a few other instances where it is appropriate for physical evaluations. Hope this is helpful.

Crout

I think your question was if this is compensable time under the FLSA, and I don't think it is. The mandate to maintain a physical every two years comes from the State (by way of a Federal act) and so it is not company business. It is something the driver must do in order to maintain the CDL, regardless of where he/she works. In order to attract and keep good drivers, however, it's probably a good idea to compensate your drivers when they get the physical.