On December 21, 2018, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced it is granting petitions to preempt the State of California’s meal and rest break rules, which differ from current Federal hours-of-service regulations.  California has been a major battleground in the fight between transportation businesses and labor regulators as California’s meal and rest break rules are substantially different from those mandated under the Federal hours-of-service rules.  Thousands of lawsuits (including many class action cases) that are currently pending will be impacted by this announcement from the Department of Transportation. 

A copy of the FMCSA’s determination can be found here.