On May 10, 2017, in LaCurtis v. Express Med. Transporters, Inc. (8th Cir., 2017), the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that 7 passenger paralift van drivers are not exempt under the Motor Carrier Act (MCA) exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), even though the vans (which are less than 10,000 pounds) were originally designed to transport up to 12 or 15 passengers.

The FLSA has an exception for (and thus, does not regulate) certain drivers and helpers who are covered under the Department of Transportation Secretary’s authority. However, the Motor Carrier Act exemption to the FLSA was narrowed in 2008 by the SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act (TCA). The TCA provides that certain employees are eligible for overtime under the FLSA (and not covered by the MCA exemption), if their work affects the safety of operation of motor vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less – UNLESS – the vehicle is “designed or used” to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver).

Accordingly, in this case, the vans at issue are less than 10,000 pounds, but were originally designed to transport up to 12 and 15 employees, respectively. However, in the conversion to paralift vans, seats were removed, and the vans reconfigured for wheelchairs. Thus, the dispute rested on whether the term “designed” meant as originally designed (for up to 12 or 15 persons), or as currently designed (for up to 7 persons plus a driver).  The Eighth Circuit concluded that Congress intended for the term “design” to not be limited to a vehicle’s original design.  The Court held that as the vans were comprehensively redesigned and substantially modified to seat 7 passengers, and weighed less than 10,000 pounds, the employees were eligible for overtime and the MCA exemption to the FLSA did not apply.