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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
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    Huntington, WV
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    Question Employer is Not Compensating Employees for Travel Time for Required Duties

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: West Virginia

    Good afternoon all,

    This is my first time posting here. I looked through older posts, so I hope I am not re-opening an older thread.

    Anyways, I work as a Project Administrator here in WV for a quasi-governmental office. We are appointed by the state of WV, but have Federal entities attached to us as well. Most labor laws our office follows pertain to Federal guidelines. That being said, apparently there are new labor laws going into effect 1 December. I am classified as a non-exempt employee and have been made to "comp" any time I have over our normal work-week. Example: I work over 5 hours Mon-Thurs, I have to take that 5 hours off on Friday instead of being paid overtime. It has also been stated to me that any time I go to meetings (leave from office to go to meeting site, then from meeting site back to office), the travel time is not counted unless I am the one driving. Here is the following example:

    Normal workday is from 8:30a - 4:30p. We have a meeting at 6:00p that takes 2 hours to get to. Meeting lasts for an hour and it takes 2 hours to get back. Round trip = 5 hours. We leave at 4:00 to make it there in time, so 30 min of that time is covered under normal workday. Therefore, 4.5 hours extra to make up, right??? Wrong.

    They state that because I didn't drive, then I only have to make up the 1 hour at the meeting. How does that logically make sense? I am en route to a work related event, yet because I am in the passenger seat, I am not supposed to be compensated for my time?

    Please don't get me wrong here...I absolutely HATE taking any time off because we always work over and I can't get anything done. However, if I have to follow these guidelines I feel that it should be somewhat fair at least.

    Thanks for any help!

    -Andy

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
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    Somewhere out there....
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    Default Re: Employer is Not Compensating Employees for Travel Time for Required Duties

    Here are the guidelines of travel for exempt and non-exempt Federal Employees under Title 5. I am not sure that your employer as a contractor MUST follow these rules, but here you have the information.

    https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-over...rk-for-travel/

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Huntington, WV
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    Default Re: Employer is Not Compensating Employees for Travel Time for Required Duties

    Thank you so much for the information!

    If I'm understanding this correctly, it does not give them the right to deem "passenger travel" a basis for not compensating time. Do you agree?

    The only thing that I can see being a somewhat grey area is pertaining to the "...1-day assignment away from the official duty station" I just wonder if they'd be so petty to say "Well he was only gone for a few hours, not a whole day"

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Employer is Not Compensating Employees for Travel Time for Required Duties

    Again, "It does not matter who is driving." Travel time is travel time.

    Are you reading the explanation, quoted above? Travel during the workday does not require that the travel be for the entire workday.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Huntington, WV
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    4

    Default Re: Employer is Not Compensating Employees for Travel Time for Required Duties

    I didn't see the actual quoted text, sorry about that. Well that solidifies my case then! I'll reference this with my director and see what he says. I'm in a tough spot because in our office of less than 20 people, I am literally the only one who has to abide by these rules. Everyone else is exempt by their classifications so they can work as much as they want and not have to comp any of that time. Consequently, I haven't been able to attend many events and conferences because I'll have to take any of the travel time off. It's really affecting the way I can perform my job.

    Anywhoo...thanks so much for everyone's help and input!

    --Andy

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Employer is Not Compensating Employees for Travel Time for Required Duties

    I'll add this: Some people get confused by the DOL's statement in relation to 29 CFR 785.39, "As an enforcement policy the Divisions will not consider as worktime that time spent in travel away from home outside of regular working hours as a passenger on an airplane, train, boat, bus, or automobile." It's possible that your employer is misinterpreting that language, which relates only to travel to overnight stays that occurs outside of regular work hours, or to meal breaks of twenty minutes or longer that occur during travel time. That rule is expressly addressing "Travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight...".

    Travel within normal work hours is compensable, as made clear in 29 CFR 785.38. Travel during one-day assignments is compensable, as made clear in 785.37.

    You may read the rules here.
    Quote Quoting 29 CFR 785.38. Travel that is all in the day's work.
    Time spent by an employee in travel as part of his principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday, must be counted as hours worked. Where an employee is required to report at a meeting place to receive instructions or to perform other work there, or to pick up and to carry tools, the travel from the designated place to the work place is part of the day's work, and must be counted as hours worked regardless of contract, custom, or practice. If an employee normally finishes his work on the premises at 5 p.m. and is sent to another job which he finishes at 8 p.m. and is required to return to his employer's premises arriving at 9 p.m., all of the time is working time. However, if the employee goes home instead of returning to his employer's premises, the travel after 8 p.m. is home-to-work travel and is not hours worked.

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Huntington, WV
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    Default Re: Employer is Not Compensating Employees for Travel Time for Required Duties

    Thank you again for the supporting documentation. The excuse I keep getting is "Well we're following the new DOL standards that are going in effect December 1st". Surely whatever changes are going in effect would be that drastically different...could they?!

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Employer is Not Compensating Employees for Travel Time for Required Duties

    As the Department of Labor explains, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA),
    Quote Quoting Travel Time
    The principles which apply in determining whether time spent in travel is compensable time depends upon the kind of travel involved.

    Home to Work Travel: An employee who travels from home before the regular workday and returns to his/her home at the end of the workday is engaged in ordinary home to work travel, which is not work time.

    Home to Work on a Special One Day Assignment in Another City: An employee who regularly works at a fixed location in one city is given a special one day assignment in another city and returns home the same day. The time spent in traveling to and returning from the other city is work time, except that the employer may deduct/not count that time the employee would normally spend commuting to the regular work site.

    Travel That is All in a Day's Work: Time spent by an employee in travel as part of their principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday, is work time and must be counted as hours worked.

    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.
    It does not matter who is driving.

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