Federal Agency Grants HOS Exemption to McKee Foods

Team drivers working for Tennessee-based McKee Foods Transportation LLC have received an exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from certain provisions of the agency’s hours-of-service (HOS) regulations.

The exemption will allow MFT’s team drivers engaged in delivery and backhaul operations to take the equivalent of 10 consecutive hours off duty by splitting sleeper berth time into two periods totaling 10 hours, provided neither of the two periods is less than three hours.

MFT sells fresh snack products under the Little Debbie, Sunbelt, and Drake’s brands. The company employs around 650 drivers, using more than 300 tractor-trailer combinations, to deliver its products to 48 states and parts of Canada from three manufacturing/distribution centers. 

One of those is in Gentry, and it employs more than 1,500 workers (making it the city’s largest employer) and serves the western United States and Mexico.

According to a Federal Register notice, current HOS rules require the use of a sleeper berth for at least eight hours — combined with a separate period of at least two hours, either in the sleeper berth, off-duty or some combination of both — to gain the equivalent of at least 10 consecutive hours off duty.

MFT had sought the exemption to have more flexibility in the sleeper berth schedules of its team drivers.

In its request, MFT said that the activities of its team drivers involve both driving and offloading product to customers. Drivers average approximately 53 hours per week on the road away from home, and approximately 30 percent of this time is spent in the sleeper.

MFT contends that the experience of its drivers has demonstrated that sleeping in a moving vehicle is more difficult than in a stopped truck.

“Having the flexibility to switch with a partner allows each driver to take advantage of shorter time periods when they may feel fatigued,” the company said. “This will result in a more-flexible work pattern, allowing both drivers to perform warehouse functions together and improving personal and vehicular safety.”