Q: When do employers
have to pay nonexempt employees for time spent traveling to a
seminar or a training session? Does it make a difference if the
employee spends the night?
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A: Nonexempt employees
(those employees covered by the minimum wage and overtime
requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA")) must be paid
for all time considered working time. Whether travel time is counted
as working time depends on when the travel takes place and what kind
of travel is involved.
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According to the FLSA regulations,
the time spent by a nonexempt employee commuting from home to work
is not considered working time and does not have to be paid.
However, if a nonexempt employee travels to a seminar or training
session that lasts for the day, the employee must be paid for all
time spent traveling to the seminar, as well as all time spent at
the seminar. The employee is considered to be on a special
assignment performed for the employer’s benefit. For example, if a
nonexempt employee travels two hours to a seminar, attends the
seminar for eight hours, and then drives home for two hours, the
employer would have to pay for the eight hours at the seminar and
the four hours of travel time. The employer may deduct from the
total working time the employee’s normal commute time and any meal
period not spent performing work or in the seminar.
If a nonexempt employee travels to
a seminar and leaves the day before the seminar begins, the employer
only has to pay for travel time that cuts across the employee’s
regular workday. In this case, the employee is simply substituting
travel for other work duties. Thus, if the employee normally works
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and he leaves for the seminar at 4 p.m., he
is only entitled to be paid for one hour of travel time, even if he
travels until 9 p.m. Travel time on nonworking days is also
considered work time if conducted during normal work hours. For
example, if the same employee travels on a Saturday, he must be paid
for any travel time between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The employer may deduct
normal meal periods from the travel time. In addition, travel during
nonwork hours may be considered work time if the employee is
actually performing work while traveling.
Personnel
Policy Service, Inc.
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