Jackson Kelly PLLC

Workplace Safety and Health News Alert

ELECTRONIC LOGGING DEVICE REQUIREMENT PHASES IN DECEMBER 17, 2017

October 16, 2017

For clients and friends of Jackson Kelly PLLC
Volume 13, Number 22
©2017 Jackson Kelly PLLC

By December 17, 2017, employers with drivers who comply with hours of service rules must install Electronic Logging Devices (“ELD”) into vehicles. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (“FMCSA”) new Electronic Logging Device Rule requires carriers and drivers who track hours of service under 49 C.F.R. § 395.8(a) to do so with an approved ELD. This second phase of the phased‑in compliance marks the period when most hours of service drivers are required to use ELDs. The familiar, handwritten grid graph sheets will no longer comply.

Compliance with the ELD rule requires the use of an ELD from an approved manufacturer; carriers can access a list of approved ELDs on the FMCSA’s website. And the new rule will require carriers to retain supporting documents under 49 C.F.R. § 395.11. Serving to corroborate ELD data, these documents must be retained beginning on December 17, 2017.

A few exceptions to the ELD mandate exist, including: drivers who operate under the short-haul exceptions are not required to keep records of duty status and will not be required to use ELDs; drivers who use paper record of duty status for not more than 8 days out of every 30‑day period are not required to use ELDs; drivers who conduct drive‑away‑tow‑away operations; and drivers of vehicles manufactured before 2000. The FMCSA does not require carriers using automatic on‑board recording devices installed before December 18, 2017, to transition to ELDs until December 16, 2019.

Installing ELDs in commercial motor vehicles, training drivers and employees to use ELDs, and ensuring that practices and policies comply with the new rule all become mandatory in December. Companies employing hours of service drivers should begin compliance efforts soon. For questions regarding compliance with this new rule, please contact Jackson Kelly.
 

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH PRACTICE GROUP
Denver, Colorado

Responsible Attorney
Karen L. Johnston
303.390.0008
kjohnston@jacksonkelly.com

The Jackson Kelly PLLC Occupational Safety & Health News-Alert is for informational purposes only and not for the purposes of offering legal advice or a legal opinion on any matter. No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any statement in the Jackson Kelly PLLC Occupational Safety & Health News-Alert without seeking advice from qualified legal counsel on the particular facts and circumstances involved.

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