When is Work Travel Time Compensated?

Jobs can entail a fair amount of employee travel time- only some of which is considered “work time”. The portion of travel time that may be compensable is regulated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in nine federal regulations, 29 C.F.R. §§ 785.33 – 784.41. Read on to learn what qualifies and what doesn’t.

Home to Work Travel: Traveling from home before the regular workday and returning to home at the end of the workday is not considered work time and therefore not likely compensable.

Home to Work on a Special One-Day Assignment or Training Course in Another City: If an employee is sent to another city for a one-day training course or on a special assignment, the travel time to and from the other city (less the employee’s travel time to and from their normal worksite) is paid travel time.

Traveling During a Day’s Work: If an employee travels from one job site to another during the day to do their job, it is considered work time and is usually counted as hours worked.

Traveling Away from Home: If an employee travels away from home overnight and the time cuts across the employee’s regular workday, the paid travel time is usually not only hours worked on regular working days during normal working hours, but also during corresponding hours on nonworking days. However, the time spent as a passenger in a car, plane, train, etc. outside the employee’s normal working hours is typically not considered paid work time unless the employee performs work while riding.

Emergency Situations: If, after working a full day and going home, an employee is called back into the office for an emergency, the travel time to and from work is usually considered paid travel time.

Opting out of Public Transportation: If an employee is offered public transportation for work travel, but opts to drive their own car, the employer may, under circumstances, treat the driving time or the time the employer would have had to count as hours worked during working hours if the employee had used the public transportation as paid travel time.

Should you have any questions related to work travel time or the Fair Labor Standards Act, please contact us online or call our offices at (561) 653-0008. At Scott Law Team., our approachable and knowledgeable lawyers are dedicated to providing skilled legal representation for your unique situation.    

Sources:

• MRSC
• Department of Labor