Travel Time: To Pay or Not to Pay?
When do employers have to pay for an employee's travel time? Federal law has a lot to say about this important topic. Although the rules can be pretty complicated, we have prepared a short bullet-point summary to help bring you and your company up to speed.
PAID Travel Time:
- Travel between multiple job sites during the workday.
- Travel that involves performing work while traveling (e.g., a courier driving).
- Travel required by the employer that occurs during regular work hours.
- If travel requires an overnight stay in a different city, the time spent away from home, even outside of regular work hours, is generally considered compensable work time.
UN-PAID Travel Time:
- Normal commuting time to and from work.
- Travel outside of regular work hours, unless the travel is considered "on duty" or part of the job.
- Travel as a passenger on a common carrier (plane, train) unless work is being performed during travel.
If you would like our team of HR Lawyers to review your travel pay policies (or help prepare a Travel Time Policy for your Company), please reach out. We're happy to help!
