How to cope with long (possibly illegal) work hours?

May 5, 2018 4:13 PM

In February I started working as a septic truck driver for a portable toilet company. The weather has warmed, business has increased, and the number of hours have become kind of ridiculous.

At least for the last week or two (and according to my boss it will only get worse), a typical day for me would be starting at 7:00 AM, finishing anywhere between 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM, off work until midnight, work from 12:00 AM to anywhere from 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM, back to work for 7:00 AM, work until anywhere from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, off work until 3:00 AM, work from 3:00 AM to anywhere from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, off until midnight, back to work for 12:00 AM to anywhere from 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM, back to work at 7:00 PM, etc. Also work Saturdays and Sundays.

I don't know how neurotypical people cope with long hours, as I have autism/Asperger's Syndrome (diagnosed), but I am finding these hours really, really hard, especially as a truck driver. I don't even know if they are legal (I know long-haul drivers are governed my state/provincial and federal regulations, but I don't know if I am).

I feel really burnt out from these hours. I've told my boss that, too, but I don't know if he really gets it.

Any advice on how to cope better?

posted by 8LeggedFriend to Work & Money (13 answers total)

Can you clarify if you're being paid for all of these hours?
posted by DarlingBri at 4:19 PM on May 5, 2018

Where are you? What's legal varies by location.
posted by Jacqueline at 4:26 PM on May 5, 2018 [4 favorites]

Ask for a printed copy of the companies liability insurance, who is on the hook for a sleep deprivation accident?

Unless you're mifi'ing in from a third world country it does not sound like a legal situation. There should be at the very minimum a full consecutive 12 hours off every 24.
posted by sammyo at 4:32 PM on May 5, 2018 [12 favorites]

How to cope? Pack healthy lunch/dinner/breakfast, just pull over when you're off, eat and sleep in the cab. Get as much shuteye as possible. That's a jerky answer but at some point burning the candle at both ends leave few options other than a meltdown.
posted by sammyo at 4:34 PM on May 5, 2018

If you're in Canada as your history implies, there are indeed regulations on hours you should work.

https://www.canadacartage.com/canadian-shipping-commercial-trucking-regulations/

Presuming you count as a commercial vehicle driver (you'd have to make sure that under the act you qualify), under the best of circumstances, per day you're getting:

7 to 3 (8 hrs) + 12-2 (2 hrs) = 10 hours/day with two breaks (3PM-midnight) = 9 hrs and 2-7 = 5 hrs. - 14 hrs off, with one 8-hour break. So -- IANAL, and haven't even read the regs carefully, so take with a grain of salt -- on a per-day basis, that seems to be legal. The moment you don't get 8 consecutive hours of rest, though (when your morning shift ends after 4 PM), it goes illegal.

Also, you shouldn't be accumulating more than 70 hrs/ week and 120 hrs/two weeks, and it looks like this is violated, too.

Again... not a lawyer, but it looks sketchy to me.
posted by cgs06 at 4:58 PM on May 5, 2018 [7 favorites]

Is this legal employment? Do you have a contract? This seems really strange to me.
posted by k8t at 7:26 PM on May 5, 2018

I think most states in the U.S. have laws for people driving trucks as to how many hours they can drive in a row and even mandated break periods. If you received training to earn your driving license, perhaps contact them to get the rules your employer should be honoring. Either that more maybe your state/provincial department of labor. This sounds like an unsustainable work schedule. At the very least, I would be hunting down new job leads. I know I couldn't do that sort of work schedule, hell no.
posted by Foam Pants at 9:38 PM on May 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

The phrase you're looking for when searching for this is Hours of Service (or HoS). Here's a handy chart (you can ignore it says B.C., these rules are federal) and here is a slightly more in-depth look at the rules.

The catch, I'm guessing, is your status and licence as a commercial driver. If you are just driving a pick-up around town for a company that isn't really a transport company, I'd be willing to bet you don't have a Class A commercial driver's licence, and your company isn't treating you as a real professional driver, and isn't too concerned about following the rules set out for commercial drivers.
posted by sardonyx at 9:49 PM on May 5, 2018

Note, I'm following cgs06's assumption you're in Canada. If you're not the U.S. also has HoS regulations as well, so you can do a search for those.
posted by sardonyx at 9:52 PM on May 5, 2018

I can't speak to the legality, but as someone who also has a driving-intensive, outdoor job that picks WAY up in the summer to the point where the hours can get pretty crazy… I just try to get as much rest as possible, schedule social time when I can, remind myself that it's going to drop off again in a few months, and think about all the overtime that I'm making. (Or would be making, if my job paid overtime, but that's another problem and hopefully one I won't have for much longer.)

Basically though it just sucks, except for the extra money. You just have to throw yourself into it and get through to the end of the busy season. Take full advantage of any extra time off you get during the slow season—you'll have earned it for sure.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 1:59 AM on May 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

If you’re in Ontario there are requirements for time off between shifts, unless there is a contract to the contrary. You should check your province’s regulations.

That said, it might be that you end up being fired instead, which isn’t legal but it is how a lot of small businesses work. I would start by figuring out what you need and talking to your supervisor about it.
posted by warriorqueen at 9:34 AM on May 6, 2018

Interesting that if you work your longest possible, 7am-7pm and midnight-4am, you'd be right up against the legal limit of 16hrs work day. But assuming Canada, going by sardonyx's link, you shouldn't be driving more than 13hrs, ie. you shouldn't be allowed to drive after 1am.

Leaving aside the legality, as someone who's also worked urban truck driving jobs, those hours seem both awful and awfully irresponsible. You work your drivers to the bone like that and it's just a matter of time before they fuck up and back their truck up into a wall or something similar. I would look for something else if it's an option.
posted by mannequito at 9:40 AM on May 6, 2018

You're being used. Use is abuse. It's a shitty company, it's a shitty job. Move on as soon as you can, find another gig, one that is sane.
posted by dancestoblue at 8:59 PM on May 6, 2018