Wage And Hour Violations: Payment For Travel Time

If you regularly travel for work in Columbus, it is essential to know about your rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) concerning payment for travel time. While not all travel time is compensable, employees in Ohio should know that some travel time is in fact compensable, and they must be paid for that time. If travel time that should be compensable would result in an employee working more than 40 hours in a workweek, that employee also may be entitled to receive overtime pay. Our Columbus wage and hour attorneys want to provide you with more information about wage and hour violations as they pertain to travel time and hours spent en route.

Commuting Time is Not Compensable

 First, we will be clear about when travel time is not compensable. While there are exceptions, the general rule is that commute time is not compensable. In other words, if you spend time driving to your work and driving home after work—that time is commuting time, and commuting time is generally not compensable. Even if you commute a great distance, you cannot ask your employer to pay you for time you spend in your own vehicle, on a train, or on any other form of public transit. Even if you have an employer-provided vehicle, time spent in your work vehicle while commuting is not compensable.

While commuting hours are not compensable, there are many other types of travel time that are in fact compensable.

Travel for Work During Normal Business Hours 

If you are getting paid during work hours and you are required to drive somewhere or to travel from one location to another for work-related purposes, you must be paid for this time. In other words, your employer cannot deduct that travel time from your hours worked and fail to pay you for that time. For example, if your employer asks you to run a work-related errand, whether you are driving a vehicle, taking a taxi or rideshare car, or using public transit to run that errand, you need to be paid for that time. Or, for example, if you must go from your employer’s office to a client’s office for a meeting, the time it takes to reach that client meeting is compensable.

Work-Related Travel is Compensable 

If you are not technically “on the clock” but you are required to take a work-related trip, all of the time spent traveling for your job is work time and is compensable. For example, if you travel out of town for a three-day work-related conference, all of the travel hours are work time.

You should know that the way in which a person is paid for travel can depend upon whether the employee is an hourly wage employee or a salaried worker, but if you have any questions, you should seek advice from a Columbus wage and hour lawyer who can provide you with more information.

Contact Our Columbus Wage and Hour Attorneys 

Do you have questions about whether you were accurately paid for travel time? An experienced Columbus wage and hour attorney at our firm can evaluate your case and provide you with more information about the possibility of filing a claim. Contact Brian G. Miller CO., L.P.A. to learn more about how we can assist you.

Source:

dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa