Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and many state laws, employers must pay non-exempt employees for certain time spent traveling. Below, we present several common travel scenarios (based on federal law) to test your knowledge of when pay is required. Choose the answer you think is right and then click to see the correct answer and explanation.
Question 1: An employee's regular commute to and from work is 10 minutes. The company then relocates to a new city that is 45 minutes away from the employee's home. Is the employer required to pay the employee for the time spent in the longer commute?
- Yes
- No
B: No. When employees engage in ordinary travel from home to work and back before and after their shifts, the FLSA generally does not consider this time compensable. In this case, the 45-minute commute would generally still be considered ordinary travel from/to home to work.
Question 2: An employee whose commute is usually 30 minutes each way is given a one-day assignment in another city. The employee's travel to the special assignment takes two hours each way. Is pay required? If so, how much time must be paid?
- No.
- Yes, the employee must be paid for all 4 hours (2 hours each way) of travel time.
- Yes, the employee must be paid for at least 3 hours of travel time.
C: Yes, the employee must be paid for at least 3 hours of travel time. If an employee regularly works at a fixed location in one city but is given a special one-day assignment in another city, the time spent traveling to and from that special one-day assignment is considered hours worked. However, you may subtract the time it normally takes the employee to travel to and from their regular worksite. In this example, the employee would be entitled to three hours of paid time for the travel (four hours of travel minus one hour of normal commuting time).
Question 3: A service technician travels from worksite to worksite throughout their day. Is pay required for this time?
- It depends on whether the employee is driving or a passenger.
- The employee is entitled to pay for all the time spent traveling from worksite to worksite.
- No, pay isn't required for the time spent traveling between job sites.
B: The employee is entitled to pay for all the time spent traveling from worksite to worksite. The time employees spend traveling between job sites during the workday is part of their principal activity and is considered hours worked under the FLSA.
Question 4: At the start of the workday, a service technician is required to report to a meeting place to receive instructions before going to the first job site. What time must be paid?
- The travel from home to the meeting place and the travel from the meeting place to the first job site.
- The travel from home to the meeting place but not the travel from the meeting place to the first job site.
- The travel from the meeting place to the first job site but not the travel from home to the meeting place at the start of the day.
C: The travel from the meeting place to the first job site but not the travel from home to the meeting place at the start of the day. When an employee is required to report to a designated meeting place to receive instructions, perform work, or pick up tools, the travel from the meeting place to the work site must be paid.
Question 5: An employee's regular work hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The employee goes on an overnight business trip that begins with a flight on a Saturday. The employee waits at the airport for an hour before their 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. flight. Is the employee entitled to pay for the time spent waiting at the airport and time spent on the flight?
- Yes
- No
A: Yes. For overnight business travel, pay is required for the time that cuts across the employee's regular working hours (even if it is on a day the employee normally wouldn't be working). In this example, since the employee's wait at the airport and time on the flight occurs during regular work hours, the travel time is considered work time and must be paid. Travel to the hotel or worksite must also be paid if it falls during the employee's normal hours.
Note: If the employee is required to work during the travel, the time must be paid even if it is outside of their regular working hours.
Question 6: An employer asks an employee to pick up office supplies on the way to work. Does the employer have to pay the employee for the time spent traveling from the supply store to the workplace?
- Yes
- No
A: Yes. If you require the employee to perform any work during their commute, the time the employee spends working and the time the employee spends traveling from the beginning of the first work-related duty to the work site (or home) would be considered hours worked under the FLSA. In this example, all of the time from the beginning of the stop to pick up office supplies until the employee arrives at the work site must be paid.
Question 7: An employee has gone home after completing a day's work and is subsequently called to a customer for an emergency and has to travel a substantial distance. How much of the travel time must be paid?
- None.
- All of the time spent in travel.
- Only the travel that is beyond their normal commuting time must be paid.
B: All of the time spent in travel. If an employee who has gone home after completing a day's work is subsequently called back and must travel a substantial distance to perform an emergency job, all the time spent in travel (as well as the time spent performing job responsibilities once the employee arrives) must be paid.
Question 8: An employer offers public transportation to an employee who is traveling, but the employee elects to drive their own car instead. How does the employer determine the travel time that must be compensated?
- The employer must use the amount of time it took by car.
- The employer must use the amount of time it would take by public transportation.
- The employer may choose the amount of time it took by car or the time it would have taken by public transportation.
C: The employer may choose the amount of time it took by car or the time it would have taken by public transportation. If an employee is offered public transportation but requests permission to drive their car instead, the employer may choose to calculate travel time based on either the time spent driving the car or the time it would have taken by public transportation.
Conclusion:
Pay employees for travel time in accordance with the FLSA and state and local laws.