Pay day for full-time and part-time employees is typically the last day of the month or the first day of the next month. Although you do not usually have to pay an employee for time spent commuting, you must pay for travel time if that time is part of the job. Once you conclude the time is “worked,” you must include those numbers in overtime calculations, and decide whether you want to pay travel at a different rate than the employee’s regular rate of pay. Contact Rager Offices Law for a free case evaluation. Generally, employees should be compensated for all time spent traveling during regular business hours, and under the FLSA, travel time associated with overnight stays is generally considered compensable work time when it “cuts across the employee’s workday.” The regular rate is calculated as follows: Regular Hours + Travel Hours in Workweek Waiting for the company vehicle where the use of the vehicle is mandatory. Are you eligible for travel time pay? The employer must use a “weighted average” to obtain a regular rate of pay for overtime purposes. ... the employer shall pay, without condition and within the time set by Article I, sections 200-244 of the California Constitution, all wages known to be owed to the employee. Exempt employees, who are paid based on their performance and expertise, are not entitled to travel time pay. For instance, in terms of travel time, certain tasks have been found to be compensable: If an employee is required to attend an offsite conference or meeting, the time spent traveling to and from the meeting is compensable. Travel expenses should be compensated by your employer, as employees can generally deduct unreimbursed travel expenses. Bono Enterprises, Inc. v. Bradshaw (1995) 32 Cal. In case you are traveling for both work-related activities and personal travel, you will have to keep separate checks for business-related expenses. If your employee is clocking a lot of travel hours, he may need to be paid at an overtime rate. Once an employee reports to work, any work related travel occurring during the day is compensable. The analysis is compounded when the hours worked are, for instance, part of the employee’s commute, consist of travel to a remote conference, or spent moving from client to client throughout the day. California employment law also allows employers to implement a different rate of travel time pay to be no less than California minimum wage. [DLSE Enforcement Policies and Interpretation Manual, section 45.3 - 45.3.1]. Mandatory Remote Conferences and Meetings, Taking the company controlled vehicle (bus, van, vehicle) where the employee cannot perform personal tasks (stopping to shop, dropping kids off at school, etc.). Time spent traveling during normal work hours is considered compensable work time. Travel time can include both local trips and travel away from home. The payment policies reimburse interpreters for mileage, travel time, and excess pay in specific circumstances; define the full and half-day session; provide a cancellation fee under certain conditions; and allow for payment above the Today, we brought our Los Angeles employment law attorney Jeffrey Rager to spell out what is travel time pay, when you are eligible to receive it, how it is calculated, and whether travel time always equals business time. Travel and Commuting Time. Under this option, they were compensated for time spent traveling to and from the garage. 5542(b)(2) and 5544(a)(3) and 5 CFR 550.112(g) and (j). Commuting Time: Under both California and federal law, travel time to and from work does not ordinarily constitute “hours worked” and is not compensable. No reimbursement for travel shall be paid from public funds for County employees, Department/Agency Head/General Manager, Boards and Commissions and Elected Officials except as authorized by this policy, and in conformance with adopted budgets. That is why you should speak to an attorney to learn more. Whether that leave is paid or unpaid depends on the employer’s paid leave, vacation or other paid time off policies. Call our Los Angeles offices at 310-527-6994 or fill out this contact form today. What do you mean by “control”? In general, vacation accrues over time as an employee works. The “travel rate” must be not less than the minimum wage (currently $10.00 per hour in California) and the employee must be notified of the different rate prior to undertaking the travel time. Paid Non-working Time Overview in California There are times when you need to pay a nonexempt employee for time not spent working. It is highly advised to speak to an employment law attorney to find out whether or not travel time pay was calculated properly in your particular situation. Travel time is considered compensable work hours where the employer requires its employees to meet at a designated place, use the employer’s transportation to and from the worksite, and prohibits employees from using their own transportation (Morillion v. Royal Packing Co., 22 Cal.4th 575 (2000)). Employers may require employees use their vacation or paid time off benefits before they are allowed to take unpaid leave, but cannot mandate that employees use paid sick leave. ... Travel and Relocation Policy. Click Here To View Article. However, the employee must be paid for all … Title 2, California Code of Regulations, section 599.859 Title 2, California Code of Regulations, sections 599.893 through 599.910 Business Contingency Planning Under California employment laws, travel time should be paid, and can be either local trips or travel away from home. Disney prohibited employees from parking close to the park and provided a mandatory shuttle service from the employee parking lot. Time spent in home-to-work travel by an employee in an employer-provided vehicle, or in activities performed by an employee that are incidental to the use of the vehicle for commuting, generally is not "hours worked" and, therefore, does not have to be paid. Although the term “suffered or permitted” is included within the Order’s overall discussion of employer control, California courts have held that the tests for whether an employee was “controlled” or “suffered or permitted” to work can also be independent of each other. If you pay a special rate for travel time, or other special circumstances, you must establish and communicate the rate to employees in advance of the event. At the federal level, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the primary law governing travel pay. It also includes time spent, even if not doing work, but under the control of the employer, such as on-site, on-call time. Federal regulations mandate that an employee be paid at one-and-a-half times his regular pay rate for time worked over 40 hours a week. Merriam-Webster defines the term “commute” as “to travel some distance between one’s home and place of work on a regular basis.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commute). Travel time will be paid at the employee’s regular hourly rate, or overtime rate when the total number of hours worked is in excess of 40 in a pay week (Sunday through Saturday). Employees who incur approved overnight lodging expenses may be reimbursed. For example, let’s get back to the situation we have mentioned in the very beginning. (To learn the rules on eligibility and accrual, see our article on California paid sick leave) Vacation Accrual. In general, your business should pay employees for the time they spend traveling for work-related activities. Whether commute time is compensable in part or whole depends on the mode and purpose of employer provided transportation, and whether use is mandated or voluntary. to represent wrongful termination clients in other locations. The former refers to an employee’s personal time spent to commute back and forth from work to home, while travel time is time spent traveling by an employee for work-related activities. Employer Control of Travel: An employer is required to compensate an employee for time spent riding in or driving a company vehicle from his home or a central stop to the work site if the employer requires employees to reach their worksite on company provided transportation. See 29 CFR § 785.35One exception to this general rule is when an employee’s workday has ended and they are called back to work. Definitely. In other words, an employer is required to compensate for travel if the time falls into either or both categories. Travel Between Clients in a Single Workday. Staring And Leering At Work – When Does This Become Sexual Harassment. On Call Time For Employees in the Housekeeping Industry. This policy shall also be subordinate to any other provisions of law pertaining to travel. The Judicial Council of California adopted payment policies for contract court interpreters in February 1, 2000. Non-exempt employees (regular, limited term or temporary) must be compensated for time spent traveling based on the guidelines outlined below. A comprehensive guide to travel time pay rules in California—when employees are entitled to be paid for travel time and how to recover those lost wages. Your employer told you to drive to a store in Los Angeles to buy some donuts during normal work hours. Want to check your calculations? But before we delve into the topic, let’s make sure that you understand the difference between commuting time and travel time. Understanding Travel Pay Laws in California As a general rule, California employees are paid for all of their time spent working, and this includes time that an employee spends traveling for work. 4th 575, 583(2000). An employer in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California is required to compensate his employees for any time spent traveling away from home. Can my boss fire me for filing a claim for travel expenses? If you have not been for a one-day or overnight stay, seek immediately legal advice of a lawyer. Hourly employees, meanwhile, should be paid on an hourly basis, which means travel time may not be as easy to calculate. Since you will have to spend time traveling from Los Angeles to New York City, your employer should pay travel time. The California Supreme Court held that the reimbursement rate can be negotiated by parties as long as it fully reimburses the employee, and the amount does not have to be set at the IRS mileage rate. California law requires that employers pay employees for all hours worked. An employee is “controlled” by the employer whenever the employer “directs, commands or restrains” an employee. For example, if a vacation policy gives an employee ten days of vacation each year, he or she will accrue five days of vacation after working for six months. For FLSA-exempt employees, the crediting of travel time as hours of work is governed under title 5 rules-in particular, 5 U.S.C. If, for instance, an employer provides a bus for workers that picks them up at a subway station and transports them to work but the employee could get there by using his own transportation; i.e., a car, bike, etc., the employer is not required to pay compensation. Our Los Angeles wrongful termination lawyer at Rager Offices Law explains that California employers are typically required to compensate their employee for spending any time that is under the employer’s control. An employer is not required to pay employees for any personal time taken while traveling, such as sleep time, meals, or sightseeing. 2201: Travel and Relocation Policy However, some states have stricter overtime policies and require overtime in other situations. Yes, so long as all time is compensated at a rate equal to or higher than the minimum wage rate for California. The rules on travel hours of work depend on whether an employee is covered by or exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Also note that the time spent in attending a mandatory conference or meeting is compensable at the employee’s regular rate of pay. HR Manual sections 2201 – Travel and Relocation Policy and 2203 – Allowances and Travel Reimbursements provide additional travel policy information, including lodging reimbursement policy and the excess lodging request approval process. Morillion v. Royal Packing Co., 22 Cal. The California employer must pay 1-1/2 or 2 times the regular rate of pay for all time worked over 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. (Note: California differs from federal law in complying with minimum wage requirements. It is illegal for an employer to retaliate … Let’s say, for example, that your employer directs you to attend a two-day event in New York City. Plaintiffs alleged three causes of action: failure to pay the minimum wage, failure to pay wages timely, and unfair business practices. Our Los Angeles employment law attorney Jeffrey Rager to spell out what is travel time pay, when you are eligible to receive it, how it is calculated, and whether travel time always equals business time. California minimum wage laws require an employer to count employee travel time as hours worked whenever it requires employees to travel, no matter when the travel occurs. Commute time from residence to remote client or vendor locations that exceeds regular commute time (i.e., the delta between regular commute and additional time to reach remote site). Off-the-Clock work is work performed outside of regular business hours, or pre- or post-shift work may be compensable. While hourly employees in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California are generally required to receive travel time pay in these situations, there are certain exceptions. Copyright 2020 SV Employment Law Firm PC | Legal Notice, Employment Compliance and Strategic Counseling, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commute, Update for California Employers – There are New Emergency Regulations For The Handling Of COVID-19 Issues, California Court of Appeal Finds Overbroad Confidentiality Agreements Can Violate California’s Ban on Restrictive Covenants and be Grounds to Overturn an Arbitration Award, California Voters Help App-based Transportation Companies by Approving Proposition 22, Case Alert — An Arbitrator’s Power To Order Third Party Discovery Depends On The Applicable Arbitration Language. California passed a law in 2015 mandating that employers provide at least 3 days of paid sick leave a year. Total Compensation for Workweek. ——————————————————– Ridesharing: An employer is not required to compensate an employee for time spent in company provided transportation from a pick up point to the work site so long as participation is entirely voluntary. Are you going to get paid for that trip, and why? App. You don't have to pay employees for travel that is incidental to the employee's duties and time spent commuting (traveling between home and work). However, commuting travel time may be compensable under California law if the employee is subject to the control of the employer during the commute. This includes any time employees are required to travel out of town, whether on a one-day or overnight trip. Sick leave is another matter. If you are asked by your employer or supervisor to drive to a store to pick up some items during normal work hours, you should be paid for your travel time. By clicking submit you are agreeing to the, 6 Things You Need to Know About Travel Time Pay in California, Law Clerk Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit against Appeals Court Judge, Multiple Whistleblowers Name LAPD Officer in Executioner Gang. PML 2016-010: Travel/Relocation Programs – Business, Travel, and Relocation Policy and Reimbursements for Employees in BU 2, 7, 9, and all Excluded Employees; PML 2016-020: PML 2016-020 - 7/27/2016 - Travel/Relocation Programs – Travel Reimbursement Rate Increases for Excluded Employees; Related Policies. The Portal-to-Portal Act makes clear that employers do not need to pay employees for time spent traveling from their homes to their workplace before the start of the workday or traveling from their workplace to their homes after the workday is over. Regular Commute: An employer is not required to compensate an employee for the time it takes him to go from his residence to his regular work site. “Suffered or permitted” to work refers to time worked where the employer knows the employee is working and does nothing to stop it, or when the employer possesses information from which such knowledge can be inferred, and that the employer “had reason to know” that the employee was performing work on its behalf. California Wage Orders (issued by the California Industrial Welfare Commission [the “IWC”]), define “hours worked” as “time during which an employee is subject to control of the employer, and includes all the time the employee is suffered or permitted to work, whether or not required to do so.” IWC Wage Order 4, Section 2K. January 27, 2020, Torrance, CA - Rager Law Firm Featured In The Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal Article, 'Fighting The Bully'. Need more information? Be sure and check your location for its own minimum wage rate. Travel time itself is not the only thing that an employer pays for. Yes; however, as discussed above, when travel time constitutes hours worked, an employer must always pay at least minimum wage to its employees for all hours worked (see generally Wage Orders’ Section 4 and also 29 USC § 206.) Travel Time. And because any time spent traveling is compensable, all compensable travel time in California counts toward the number of hours worked in calculating any required overtime premium pay. That is why you are highly advised to get a free consultation from an experienced Los Angeles employment law attorney to determine whether or not your travel time pay is fair, or how to take legal action against an employer who does not pay for travel expenses. In other words, is the employer in control? The term “hours worked,” however, is not all that simple to define or apply. 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