Travel/Work Time

gismo · May 2004

Good Afternoon, It's been a long time since my last post, I am relatively new to HR, 2yrs and in the Banking industry. I was wondering how others out there handle Non-Exempt EE's when they are scheduled for an out of town seminar. If the seminar is from 8:00am to 5:00, if they are using a company vehicle, do you pay the EE drive time to and from the seminar? Thank you in advance for your help.

HRPager · May 2004

Check this website out:

[url]http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs22.htm[/url]

Pork · May 2004

Gismo: If the non-exempt is in a company vehicle they get paid from the time they leave the location home or company parking lot or dispatch point when they are in the mode of driving or assisting in driving, navigating, maintenace, pumping gas, communicating with the dispatcher or anything that is physical labor. If they are a passenger and doing nothing but riding there is no requirement for payment until they start the seminar now they are on the clock. Less the lunch period. Meals and resting facilities are an expense and paid by the company, by perdiem or by the receipt amount and reimbursed. The return trip is like wise on the clock until they get to the vehicle parking lot or their home.

I hope this helps! Some companies are more liberal with what they authorize but the time in and out for the driver and worker is required by FLSA.

PORK

Shadowfax · May 2004

Pork: Are you sure about the rider? I thought if the employee reported to the office then went to the seminar, he was on the clock - rider or driver. If the ee goes from home to the seminar, then he is not paid until he arrives at the seminar location, but the driver is paid from beginning of trip. I didn't check the web site posted above, but when I find time I will, mayb e the answer was in there.

marc · May 2004

I am with Shadowfax on this one. I thought the only time you did not pay non-exempts for travel time had to do with the time and day of travel. If the travel time was during the normal work week, then travel is paid. If it is during normal days off, such as a Sunday evening, then it is not paid.

Pork · May 2004

I stand corrected, there are several paragraphs to this little venuet. Section 785.39 travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight is travel away from home. Travel away from home is clearly worktime when it cuts across the employee's workday. The employee is simply substituting travel for other duties. THIS TIME IS NOT ONLY HOURS WORKED ON REGULAR WORKING DAYS DURING NORMAL WORKING HOURS, BUT ALSO DURING THE CORRESPONDING HOURS ON NONWORKING DAYS, MEANING: holidays, Saturdays, & Sundays. Regular meal periods are not counted. As an enforcement policy the Divisions will not consider as working time that time spent in travel away from home outside of regular working hours as a passenger on an airplane, train, boat, bus, or automobile. The reg does not address whether the automobile is a company or private car.

Going to the right paragraph is important.

Section 785.41 talks to WORK PERFORMED WHILE TRAVELING. Any work which an employee is required to perform while traveling must of course be counted as hours worked. An employee who drives a truck, bus, automobile, boat , or airplane, or an assistant or helper, is working while riding, except during meal breaks. This covers then the hours outside of the normal working hours. Simple riders are just that, but must be paid their hours normally worked. If you let a rider grab the gas hose or check the oils, fluids, etc. then he/she has become an assistant driver and is owed his/her entire trip of hours.

I can no longer find the explanation that says a rider is a rider and is not owed anything; I was evidently wrong, on that point as long as the hours riding does not cross over into the normal work hour day, so riding from 4 in the morning until 9 in the morning with the seminar starting at 9:00 means that one may owe the rider an hour because his/her work day normally begins at 8:00AM. I made an assumption that the rider would be in the class room and paid for the normal hours worked. If he/she is not in the class room but riding at the normal hour when the bell rings the time clock starts regardless of just being a rider.

Thanks for your challanges!

PORK

Travel/Work Time

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