Truck Drivers: Detention Time, Per-Mile Pay, and Which Break Rules Apply

Driver pay hides wage theft in plain sight: per-mile pay covering nothing for detention, inspections, and paperwork — all compensable time in California.

What California Law Says

Per-mile compensation is piece-rate pay, requiring separate payment for non-driving time under section 226.2. Federal preemption removed California meal and rest break rules for many property-carrying interstate drivers, but minimum-pay and non-productive time claims remain fully alive.

How to Fight Back, Step by Step

1. Pull your ELD logs — the electronic hours records are ready-made evidence of on-duty, non-driving time.
2. Total detention at shippers, fueling, inspections, and paperwork hours paid at zero.
3. Claim minimum wage for all non-driving on-duty time plus itemization violations.
4. Add unreimbursed expenses if you covered fuel, tolls, or equipment as a misclassified owner-operator.
5. File with the Labor Commissioner; misclassification of lease drivers adds an entire second layer of claims.

Common Questions

I am a lease-purchase owner-operator. Employee claims anyway?

Very possibly — lease-purchase arrangements controlled by a single carrier frequently fail the contractor tests, converting the relationship into an employee wage claim.

Do California rules apply if I cross state lines?

California pay rules generally cover work performed in the state, and California-based drivers retain substantial protections despite the federal break preemption.