In a victory for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and in accordance with the wishes of the American Trucking Association (ATA), the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will not hear a lawsuit challenging a DOT rule requiring truck operators to use electronic logging devices (ELDs) to track hours of service. This means the ELD mandate will remain in place, as will its December 18 compliance deadline. The lawsuit, spearheaded by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), claimed the ELD rule is a harassment tool that violates truckers’ Fourth Amendment rights as well as that the rule does not meet Congress’ standards for a mandate. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit had already denied the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s lawsuit, so the next step was to ask the Supreme to overturn that decision. The ATA agrees with the Supreme Court’s ruling, stating, “We are pleased to see that the Supreme Court will not interfere with the implementation of this important, and Congressionally mandated, safety rule. We will continue to support FMCSA as they work toward the December deadline for electronic logging devices and urge them to provide certainty to the industry about when and how to comply with this rule by continuing to move toward implementing this regulation on schedule.” The Supreme Court’s decision effectively ends OOIDA’s court challenge. If you have any questions regarding the Supreme Court’s decision or the ELD mandate, please contact Steve Setliff at (804) 377-1261.