Skilled trades
Roadside assistance & tow operators: waiting time pay
The short answer
Roadside and tow operators who must stay staged in a service area waiting for dispatch are performing compensable waiting time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.15, not unpaid availability, and only genuinely relieved off-duty periods are excludable under 29 C.F.R. § 785.16. California pays for all time under employer control per IWC Wage Order 9-2001 § 2(K).
Staged and waiting is working
Where an operator must remain in the truck or within a staging zone, ready to take the next call, the idle time is hours worked under 29 C.F.R. § 785.15. Time is off duty only when the worker is completely relieved and free to use it for their own purposes under 29 C.F.R. § 785.16.
Piece-rate and per-call pay
Pay per tow does not eliminate overtime: piece-rate earnings are converted to a regular rate and overtime is owed on hours past 40 under 29 U.S.C. § 207(a) and 29 C.F.R. § 778.111. California requires separate hourly pay for non-productive time and rest breaks of piece-rate workers under Cal. Lab. Code § 226.2.
Vehicle expenses
Deductions and unreimbursed expenses may not cut pay below minimum wage under 29 C.F.R. § 531.35, and California requires indemnification of necessary business expenses under Cal. Lab. Code § 2802.
Facts that usually decide these cases
- Required staging inside a service zone
- Per-call pay with no hourly floor for waiting
- Long unpaid gaps between dispatches
- Unreimbursed vehicle and fuel costs
Weighed together under the framework of Owens v. Local No. 169, 971 F.2d 347 (9th Cir. 1992): Geographic restriction — how far you may travel while on call; Response time — how many minutes you have to answer or arrive; Call frequency — how often the phone actually rings; Personal interference — what the rotation stops you from doing; Trade or refusal rights — whether you can hand the shift off.
Frequently asked questions
- Should waiting between tows be paid?
- Yes, when you are not completely relieved of duty: idle time on the employer's terms is hours worked under 29 C.F.R. § 785.15, and off-duty status requires complete relief under 29 C.F.R. § 785.16.
- I'm paid per call. Is that legal?
- Per-call pay is allowed, but it must yield at least minimum wage for all hours and overtime past 40 hours under 29 U.S.C. § 207(a) and 29 C.F.R. § 778.111. California also requires separate pay for non-productive time under Cal. Lab. Code § 226.2.
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