It is important to have a clear travel time policy outlined for employees. In some circumstances, employers may be required to pay non-exempt employees for travel time.
New York State currently maintains the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations for non-exempt employee travel time compensation.
In some circumstances, employers may be required to pay non-exempt employees for travel time:
Traveling away from home
When travel requires an overnight stay, any time spent traveling that falls within the employee’s normal working hours is compensable, regardless of the day of the week the travel takes place.
Time spent traveling to an airport terminal, for example, is considered commute time and is not treated as hours worked, but time spent waiting at the terminal is considered compensable when it falls during normal work hours.
For example, Jane normally works Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm. She is required to travel by plane on a Sunday for business in another state. Travel time between 8:30am-5pm on Sunday is compensable. So, if Jane arrives at the airport on Sunday at 3pm and at her destination at 7pm, the employer is required to pay her from 3pm-5pm (during normal work hours).
Driving at the direction of the employer
When employees are required to drive themselves or others, all driving time is compensable. However, when an employee is traveling to an overnight stay and has the option to use public transportation (plane, train, etc.), but chooses to drive their own vehicle instead, the employer can either choose to pay for all time spent traveling or pay only the travel time that occurs during normal work hours, regardless of what day of the week the employee travels.
If an employee volunteers to drive others in their own vehicle to the overnight stay, the employee’s time could be unpaid for those travel hours outside of the normal work hours.
Employers should keep in mind that when pay is required for travel time, the time spent traveling is considered hours worked and must be included when determining overtime pay obligations.
Travel time pay may be at the minimum hourly wage, or at the employee’s current regular wage. However, employers must have that predetermined before employees travel, and it is recommended to specify what rate (either minimum wage or regular rate) employees will be paid for travel time in your policy.
It is important to have a clear travel time policy outlined for employees. For assistance in creating one, or if you would like a current travel time policy reviewed, please contact your designated HR Advisor and HR Generalist.
*Please note that every travel time situation is different, and different FLSA regulation may apply. The above list is not all inclusive. For additional advisement on specific travel time situations, please contact your HR Advisor and HR Generalist
EBC HR & Payroll Solutions, Inc. is dedicated to offering solutions for your organization’s human resources challenges. For more information regarding services provided by EBC, reach out to sales at 716.674.7900 or [email protected].
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