Overtime Pay for Out of State Training

Lorvis · March 2005

As an employer in Maryland, if we send an hourly, non-exempt production employee to an out-of-state training session, do we pay overtime for all hours over 40 hours for the week (including travel time)?

POPEYE · March 2005

Yes and Maybe. Yes, all hours "worked" over 40 must be paid at the OT rate, and depending on how your EE traveled, the travel time may also need to be compensated at OT rate if over 40.

Lorvis · March 2005

Employee traveled by air. Would that need to be overtime?

POPEYE · March 2005

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 03-22-05 AT 12:33PM (CST)[/font][br][br]If my understanding is correct, and you can be sure we will be informed differently if I'm not correct, you do not have to count travel time if the EE is not physically driving. Now you would have to count travel time to and from the airport if they drove.

Hope this helps and welcome to the forum.

Lorvis · March 2005

Good info. Thank you.

pork1 · March 2005

LORVIS: DO A GOOGLE FOR 785.38, .39, .40, AND .41. In my book 785-41 says, unless the person is the pilot or a part of the airline staff for the trip, the employee is not working and therefore not required to be paid as working time. 785.39 then says: travel which takes the employee away from home overnight is travel away from home. Travel away from home is clearly worktime, WHEN IT CUTS ACROSS THE EMPLOYEE'S NORMAL WORKDAY HOURS. Wage and hour will not count that time spent in travel away from home outside of regular working hours as a passenger on an airplane. So, before the answer is yes, you need to look at what the employee is doing during travel and what time is the normal working time for the employee. Hours before a normal work time is not counted and the same would be true of after hours travel time.

It is much easier to be safe and take care of the traveling employee to pay all hours in travel for training from which the company is going to reap the benefits. Once you decide when the 40 hours is reached for pay purposes, then you can look at the remaining time as O/T. It may not be O/T but could just be regular time and that depends on your Workweek (Start and stop).

PORK

HRCalico · March 2005

Pork is right - during working hours, pay it; not during working hours, pay only if they are driving/piloting/rowing the boat, etc.

I'm not sure I'd go the "easy and safe" route and pay all travel hours because it could set an expensive precedent. However, if it is an infrequent occurrence, probably wouldn't hurt.

Overtime Pay for Out of State Training

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