Truck Driver Labor Laws in California: Pay, Breaks and AB 5

Part of our California Labor Laws by Job library31 guides→

California truck driver labor laws start with one question: are you an employee or a genuine independent business? Under the ABC test in Labor Code 2775, most drivers who haul for one carrier are presumed to be employees, which means minimum wage, reimbursement of work expenses, and protection from paycheck deductions for the truck, fuel and insurance. Some rules work differently for truckers than for other workers. Interstate drivers covered by federal hours-of-service rules are generally exempt from California overtime, and federal regulators have preempted California’s meal and rest break rules for many of them.

Getting the classification right can be worth a lot. A driver who pays a few hundred dollars a week in truck lease payments, insurance and fuel as a “contractor” may be able to recover those costs, with interest and attorney’s fees, if they were really an employee all along.

This guide covers the misclassification rules for owner-operators, illegal deductions, overtime, breaks, per-load and per-mile pay, the special rules for port drivers, and what to do if you were shortchanged.

Are truck drivers employees or independent contractors in California?

Labor Code 2775 says anyone who provides labor or services for pay is an employee unless the hiring company proves all three parts of the ABC test:

• A: the driver is free from the company’s control and direction, both on paper and in practice;
• B: the work is outside the usual course of the company’s business; and
• C: the driver is customarily engaged in an independently established trucking business of their own.

Part B is usually the hardest for a motor carrier to meet. When a trucking company hires a driver to haul freight, the driver is doing exactly what the company is in business to do.

AB 5 and the follow-up law that renumbered its exemptions do not contain a general exemption for owner-operators or motor carriers. There is a business-to-business exemption (Labor Code 2776), but it requires the company to prove a long list of conditions, and if it applies, the older multi-factor Borello test decides your status instead. There is also a narrow exception for some construction trucking subcontractors (Labor Code 2781(h)). Industry groups have challenged how AB 5 applies to trucking, so if a company tells you a court ruling makes you a contractor, get advice on your specific facts. For the details of the test, see our guide to the ABC test and misclassification.

Key fact

Lease-on deals and illegal deductions

Many misclassified drivers sign “lease-on” or lease-to-own agreements. The carrier then deducts truck payments, insurance, fuel, plates, permits, ELD fees, escrow or maintenance from each settlement. If you are actually an employee, much of that is unlawful:

• Labor Code 2802 requires an employer to reimburse all necessary expenses and losses you incur doing your job. Awards carry interest from the date you paid the expense, and you can recover reasonable attorney’s fees.
• Labor Code 221 makes it unlawful for an employer to collect or receive back any part of wages it has paid you. Requiring you to pay the company for the truck you use for its loads can run afoul of this rule.

Keep every settlement statement, lease, escrow ledger and fuel receipt. These documents usually show exactly how much was taken. Our guide to expense reimbursement in California explains section 2802 in more depth.

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Overtime rules for truck drivers

Most trucking companies are covered by Wage Order 9, the transportation industry order. Section 3(L) of that order says the overtime and hours rules do not apply to employees whose hours of service are regulated by the federal Department of Transportation (49 C.F.R. 395.1 to 395.13) or by California’s own driver hours rules (Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, section 1200 and following).

In plain terms: if your driving hours are governed by federal or California hours-of-service rules, you are generally not owed California daily or weekly overtime. You are still owed at least minimum wage for every hour worked. Drivers whose hours are not governed by those rules, along with dispatchers, mechanics, yard workers and dock workers at the same company, are generally owed overtime after 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week.

Meal and rest breaks: the FMCSA preemption

In December 2018, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration determined that California’s meal and rest break rules are preempted under 49 U.S.C. 31141 as applied to drivers of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles who are subject to the federal hours-of-service rules (83 Fed. Reg. 67,470). The Ninth Circuit upheld that determination in International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 2785 v. FMCSA, 986 F.3d 841 (9th Cir. 2021), and the U.S. Supreme Court declined review.

The FMCSA issued a similar determination for passenger-carrying drivers in 2020. On June 4, 2026, the Ninth Circuit denied California’s challenge to that one too (People of the State of California v. FMCSA, No. 20-70706).

What this means for you depends on what you drive and which hours rules apply:

Your situation	California overtime?	California meal and rest breaks?
Property-carrying commercial truck, subject to federal hours-of-service rules	Generally no (Wage Order 9, §3(L))	Generally no (FMCSA preemption)
Driver subject only to California’s state hours rules	Generally no (Wage Order 9, §3(L))	Possibly yes; fact-specific
Driver of a vehicle not covered by any hours-of-service rules	Generally yes	Generally yes
Non-driving staff (dock, yard, dispatch, mechanics)	Yes	Yes

Federal hours-of-service rules still require their own breaks and limits. And preemption does not affect minimum wage, expense reimbursement, pay stubs or final pay. See meal and rest break premiums for the rules that apply when you are covered.

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Per-load, per-mile and piece-rate pay

Paying drivers by the load or by the mile is a form of piece-rate pay, and Labor Code 226.2 adds protections for it:

• Time that is under the employer’s control but not directly paid by the load or mile, called “other nonproductive time,” must be paid separately at no less than the applicable minimum wage. For drivers, this often includes waiting at docks and ports, pre-trip inspections, fueling, paperwork and loading.
• Where rest and recovery periods are required, they must be paid separately at the higher of your average hourly rate for the week or the minimum wage.
• Your wage statement must separately list the hours, rate and pay for rest and recovery periods and for other nonproductive time.

💡 Example: Luis drives only within California and is paid $1,200 for the week’s loads. He also spends 8 hours that week waiting to be loaded, unpaid. Assuming the $16.90 state minimum wage applies, Luis is owed at least 8 × $16.90 = $135.20 for that waiting time, on top of his load pay. (Hypothetical; a higher local minimum wage would increase the amount.)

Local minimum wages can be higher than the state rate. Check our California minimum wage by city page and run your numbers through the wage and hour calculator.

Key fact

Port drayage drivers: extra protection under Labor Code 2810.4

Port truck drivers have a special law. The Labor Commissioner posts a public list of port drayage motor carriers with unsatisfied judgments, citations or awards for unpaid wages, unlawful expenses or misclassification of drivers.

Since January 1, 2025, a customer that uses a port drayage carrier shares all civil legal responsibility to the driver for the carrier’s misclassification of the driver as an independent contractor, whether or not the carrier is on the list. The customer has no liability if the carrier uses its own employee drivers, or bona fide independent contractors who hold their own operating authority. Very small customers (fewer than 25 workers) and public entities are excluded. For port drivers, this can mean a second, more solvent party is responsible for what you are owed.

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What you can recover and how long you have

A misclassified or underpaid driver may be able to recover:

• Unpaid minimum wages, plus liquidated damages and interest;
• Reimbursement of truck, fuel, insurance and other business expenses, with interest and attorney’s fees;
• Pay for waiting and other nonproductive time under the piece-rate law;
• Penalties for inaccurate pay stubs and late final pay; and
• Civil penalties under PAGA on behalf of yourself and other drivers.

Most wage claims must be brought within three years (Code of Civil Procedure 338), and up to four years when a claim is also brought under the Unfair Competition Law. Older losses drop off every week you wait.

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What to do if you think you were misclassified or underpaid

1. Gather your paperwork: lease or contractor agreement, settlement statements, escrow records, insurance and fuel receipts, and any ELD or dispatch logs.
2. Write down how the job really works: who assigns loads, sets routes, requires the company’s logo or authority, and whether you can haul for others.
3. Track waiting and inspection time that the per-load or per-mile rate does not cover.
4. Do not sign new releases or “contractor acknowledgments” without advice.
5. Talk to a lawyer before filing. A wage claim with the Labor Commissioner is one option; a lawsuit or arbitration may recover more. Our wage and hour attorneys can review your options.

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Frequently asked questions

Does AB 5 apply to owner-operators in California?

Yes. The ABC test applies to California motor carriers, and the Labor Code contains no general owner-operator exemption. A driver may still be a genuine contractor if the company proves all three parts of the test, or if a specific exemption such as the business-to-business exemption is met.

Do California truck drivers get overtime?

Drivers whose hours are regulated by federal or California hours-of-service rules are generally exempt from overtime under Wage Order 9. Other drivers and non-driving staff generally are owed overtime after 8 hours a day or 40 a week.

Do California meal and rest break laws apply to truckers?

Not for property-carrying commercial drivers subject to federal hours-of-service rules, because of the FMCSA’s 2018 preemption determination, which the Ninth Circuit upheld. Drivers outside that group may still be covered.

Can my company deduct truck lease payments from my settlements?

If you are really an employee, your employer generally must cover necessary business expenses under Labor Code 2802 and cannot take back wages under Labor Code 221. Those deductions may be recoverable.

I’m paid by the mile. Am I owed anything for waiting time?

Generally yes, if you are an employee. Labor Code 226.2 requires separate pay at no less than minimum wage for nonproductive time, such as waiting to load or unload, and your pay stub must list it.

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