overnight travel time

HRinGA

I think I have this right, but the DOL regs are sometimes as clear as mud.

Hourly EE normally works M-F, 8hr shift.

He is flying out Sunday, will attend training classes M-F and then flies home Sunday.

Am I correct in that we do not have to pay for travel time on Sat/Sun? DOL states:

Travel Away from Home Community: Travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight is travel away from home. Travel away from home is clearly work time when it cuts across the employee's workday. The time is not only hours worked on regular working days during normal working hours but also during corresponding hours on nonworking days. As an enforcement policy the Division will not consider as work 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.

In one sentence it states it is worktime, but then the last sentence states it is not if he is a passenger.

davids

My interpretation has always been that if the travel cuts across normal work time even on a non-work day, it is compensable. So, in your scenario, if any part of the Saturday and Sunday travel is between the normal work hours of 8:00 to 5:00, that portion is compensable. And, unless you adjust the employee's schedule, s/he will be due time and one-half if s/he works 40 hours in addition to the travel time.

allsteaks

We choose to be somewhat generous and well within the requirements in these situations. We pay the employee from the time he leaves home (reasonable transit time) to the airport, to their arrival time at their destination hotel. We believe they are travelling for our benefit and sacrificing home time, so we choose to err in favor of the employee. We believe our employees appreciate it.

Dutch2

Samehere... We pay the ee for all travel time. We realize that we may not be required to do so, but we feel that they could be home with their family but they are traveling for us; so the least we can do is pay them for this time.

Riva

We also pay for all travel time. Same as allsteaks and Dutch.

Elizabetharess

In the state of Wisconsin an hourly employee must be paid for any travel time outside their normal work area. It was a real zinger for me to discover this. So, check state law as well as DOL.