Travel Time for Required Seminar - Need ASAP

Rockie

If an hourly employee goes to a required seminar from June 19 - 22, am I correct in assuming he will be paid for the actual time spent in the seminar, even if it is over 8 hours? On Saturday, would this be the same?

What if the employee has to leave an hour early to drive to the seminar? Is this time compensable or do we just have to pay him for the time actually spent in the seminar? We will pay mileage, but do we have to pay hourly wage in addition to this?

Traditionally, if employees go overnight, don't we usually just pay for the time that cuts across the normal workday?

Don D

Rockie: My understanding of the FLSA is that the time the non-exempt is REQUIRED to be IN the seminar is compensable, even if it runs into weekend days, and overtime does apply since it is considered time worked. Its my understanding that if the travel time is outside the employee's standard work hours, it is not compensable under federal law. I have read that an employee who is sent on a one-day assignment to another location, the time spent traveling must be counted as work time. Then in another sentence I am reading "Time spent in travel away from home outside of regular hours as a passenger on an airplane, train, boat, bus or automobile IS NOT work time". Don't know what your state law may or not say about this. The thing that makes the most sense to me is to pay them for the time required to travel to and from the seminar (your calculation, not theirs). This seems practicable since you will never hear the end of it if you tell them they have to travel on their own time. You'll also not be surprised to hear later that they arrived at the seminar late and ducked out early on the final day (allowing them time to travel on the company clock). I'd Check with the seminar presenter to make sure they will not be required to perform nite-work after class as a condition of completing the seminar. If they do, this is payable also. I think in this case I'd forget the federal loophole that might allow me not to pay them, and opt instead for doing what will ensure this person's continued happiness and tenure with the company. (Take it out of the Doctor's Company Party Budget!)

Rockie

Thanks. This helps a lot. These regulations are so vague, it's hard to know what to do sometimes.

Carol CA

We would pay for all the employee's travel time - from the time they leave their house until the time they arrive at their hotel (which becomes their new "home base"). They would then get paid for all time actually attending the seminar and for their travel time back until they reach home.

Don D

Rockie: In order to set the proper precedent and get this off on the right foot for the future when this comes up again, as I mentioned, their travel time should be 'your' calculation, not theirs. Your calculation should be a resonable travel time based on map mileage and any reasonable, brief meal stop. I've learned the hard way that when employees are told the company will pay from the time they leave home till the time they arrive somewhere and the same coming back, the resulting travel summary shows an interesting route with unreasonable delays for breaks, meals, slow traffic, etc. Not to be a hard A-- about this, but, the Company does have to set the parameters so as not to encounter problems moving forward. A reasonable rule is one hour per each 50 map miles which includes stops.

System

This stuff makes my eyes go blurry. I think there are different rules depending on whether it's Saturday, workdays, her normal working hours, abnormal hours, a full moon.... You might want to check the HR Executive Special Report called "Defusing the Overtime Bomb: How to Comply with the FLSA."
[url]http://www.hrhero.com/special.shtml[/url]

James Sokolowski
Senior Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers

Don D

>This stuff makes my eyes go blurry. I think there are different rules
>depending on whether it's Saturday, workdays, her normal working
>hours, abnormal hours, a full moon

James: Hold on. I am faxing you a tube of Visine as we speak. Disregard the full moon. The deal with Saturday, workdays, her normal hours and abnormal hours is simply this: If the travel is during the time period of her normal working hours, even if on a weekend, then pay is mandatory. If it's outside those hours, unless it is a special one day assignment, pay is not mandatory. Reasonable? Maybe. Mandatory? No.

HCA

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 03-25-03 AT 12:47PM (CST)[/font][p]So I get the pay, but what about meals? Our statute says that an employee is eligible for an evening meal allowance if the employee is in travel status for more than 3 continuous hours between 3:01p.m. and midnight. "Travel shift" is defined as that period of time beginning 1 hour before and terminating 1 hour after the employee's normally assigned work shift.

We have employees that are going on a multi-day seminar. They are leaving one hour after their normal work shift, and the trip will take approx 2 hours. My auditor doesn't want to pay the evening meal, because travel time is under 3 hours. The supervisor argues that the minute they leave, they are on a 24-hour travel status (since it's 2 days) and therefore it's over the 3 hours time frame. ARGH!

As I read all of the FLSA regs (and my handy seminar materials from Lee Publishing!), I have concluded that because they are traveling outside of their normal working hours on a work day (they get off at 5 and are leaving at 6) , that time is not compensable. Therefore, neither are the meals since they aren't in the car for more than 3 hours. My boss is concerned because he thinks they are on travel status until they return to their place of residence. I'm so confused.

I also need to add that the seminar starts the next morning at 8:00 a.m. and we are not dictating where they eat. Nor is it part of their work. (i.e. not mandatory banquets, etc.)