The Chartwell Chronicles: Trucking
Case In Point: Recent Developments in Employment Law
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) recently proposed significant amendments to its drug and alcohol testing regulations that include adding fentanyl and its metabolite, norfentanyl, to the drug testing panels. ...more
Motor carrier requirements for lawful qualified drivers are under review across the industry following a new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration interim final rule on commercial drivers license, or CDL, standards....more
Motor carrier requirements for lawful qualified drivers are under review across the industry following a new FMCSA Interim Final Rule on CDL standards. ...more
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed moving some regulations governing application of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to an appendix in...more
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) clarified in an August 12th Interpretive Letter the Hazardous Materials Regulations (“HMR”) applicable to emergency discharge control equipment for...more
On April 28, 2025, President Donald Trump published an executive order (“EO”) requiring the secretary of transportation to overhaul the compliance process of certifying a commercial driver’s English proficiency. As set forth...more
Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to begin enforcement of English language proficiency (ELP)...more
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) issued an internal policy on May 20, 2025, outlining its approach to English language proficiency (“ELP”) for commercial motor vehicle drivers. This policy is more...more
Motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders and private fleets that are required to comply with Colorado’s new Large Entity Reporting (“LER”) requirement, a relatively unpublicized new regulatory measure in the State of...more
On January 8, 2025, Governor Mike DeWine signed into law House Bill 403, which enacts § 4513.71 of the Ohio Revised Code and establishes clear dispute resolution protocols to secure expedited release of motor vehicles and...more
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) on November 20, 2024,titled Transparency in Property Broker Transactions (89 FR 91648). ...more
Traditionally, the bill of lading (“BOL”) is a basic transportation contract between shipper and carrier. It’s importance under today’s laws is established in the first sentence of the Carmack Amendment at 49 USC § 14706....more
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) International Roadcheck (Roadcheck) is scheduled for May 14-16, 2024. Roadcheck is an annual high-visibility, high-volume commercial motor vehicle inspection and regulatory...more
The freight brokerage industry began humming Meat Loaf’s 1977 power ballad earlier today when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit became the third federal appellate court to consider the extent to which...more
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) historically has been less prone to large shifts in policy between presidential administrations. Although President Donald Trump and President-Elect Joe Biden each nominated a...more
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced on March 13, 2020, that, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, exemptions for some regulations were warranted for certain motor...more
Employers of drivers who hold commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) have been subject to U.S. Department of Transportation drug and alcohol testing requirements for over twenty-five years....more
• The Clean Water Act imposes permitting obligations on "point sources." • Should those obligations apply to railroad cars, which move freely from state to state? • The U.S. railroad industry has asked the Surface...more