Tradeshow Comp. for Hourly Employees

NancyFry

Going to Industry tradeshows is a company bonus to employees.  Most trade shows occur on the weekends after the 40 hour work week.  The company pays for all travel and lodging expenses and allows generous per diem meal allowances and even sometimes will comp the mini bar and hotel ammenities including massages.  After redefining positions as exempt and non-exempt, we have found that 3 of our employees fall into the non-exempt category and would be candidates for trade show attendance.  I know that we would have to pay for travel time, but what is our obligation to these employees for time spent working at the booth on a Sat or Sunday at the tradeshow?  Is it overtime?  How many hours each day would be compensateable?  What if they go to the banquet after spending all day on the floor?

RuthG

There are two issues here - work time and travel time.

For work time, you have to pay your nonexempt employees overtime for any hours worked over 40 in a week. So if working at the booth at the trade show is hours 41 and 42 - you have to pay overtime. if your employee only works 30 hours M-F, and works 9 hours on Sat, then you don't have to pay overtime under federal law. Definitely look at your state overtiime laws to make sure you don't have to pay overtime for weekend work, over 8 hours in a day, or over 5 days a week. If they go to a banquet that is work related, then you would need to pay them overtime if it is over 40 hours in the week.

 Travel away from home is paid work time when it cuts across the employee's workday. The time is not only hours worked on regular workdays during normal work hours, but also during the corresponding hours on nonwork days - like Saturday and Sunday. Ttime spent traveling away from home outside of regular working hours as a passenger on a plane, train, boat, or bus is not considered paid work time.