Truckers sue DOT over recordkeeping.

• Position: COMPLIANCE

The trucking industry wants to know exactly what records it must retain to prove that its employees are complying with federal limits on truckers' driving time--and it is suing the Department of Transportation (DOT) to get the answer.

In 2008, the Bush administration issued new regulations for truck drivers' hours on the road. The DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is revising those, and it could result in a shorter workday for truckers or even higher costs for carriers and shippers.

According to the Journal of Commerce Online, in November 2009 the FMCSA said it would release a proposed hours-of-service (HOS) rule this year and a final rule by August 2011.

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In the meantime, the department released informal guidelines that broadly define supporting documents that are required, identifying 34 categories of records, and ruling that any document "could" possibly be used to verify HOS records, including everything from driver log books to fuel and toll receipts, or more. The American Trucking Association (ATA) took issue with that, arguing that carriers cannot possibly save everything and they cannot comply if they don't know what the rules are.

In a lawsuit filed January 19, 2010, the association asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to order DOT to issue a notice of...