Federal Overtime Law - If employee elected to use a company vehicle, is overtime required?

[ghurty]

What is the name of your state? NJ but this is a federal question

This in regard to federal overtime laws. We are a wiring company when employees travel to a job site that is far away, they have the option to take their own personal vehicle or take a company vehicle so they don't put mileage onto their car. I know if that we require them to go and go from the office, then the time spent travel is required to be paid to them thus eligible for overtime. My questions are if they are not required to come to the office, and they are able to go directly to the job site in their personal car but they decide to use a company vehicle:

1. When driving to and from the office to the job site in the company vehicle and you are not required to be taking a company vehicle. And if you do take the company vehicle it can be taken home, but you elect to take it back to the office (for whatever reason such as you need your personal car for yourself after hours), is that time required to be compensated?
2. Does it make a difference if you are the only person in the car, or if you are taking a passenger?
3. If it is not required to be compensated when you take the company vehicle back to the office because you are doing it for your own personal needs (see question 1), does it change if you decide to give a ride to another employee? The company is not requiring you to take the other employee back with you, he can be in his own vehicle, but the two employees make up in between themselves to travel back together.

Thank you

 

[Zigner]

Why do you believe that this is a "federal question" and why do you believe it is an "overtime" question vs. a compensation question?

 

[adjusterjack]

Seems to me that all three of your questions have to do with commuting and you don't get paid for commuting. Doesn't matter whose vehicle or who you have with you.

If your shift is 9-5 then you drive to the shop in your car. Arrive at 9, pick up the company truck, go do your work, bring the truck back by 5, drive home in your car. You don't get paid for going to and from work so your "what ifs" are irrelevant.

It's another story if your work duties result in working beyond your shift hours which has nothing to do with your commute time.

 

[cbg]

It doesn't matter if you are in a company vehicle, your personal vehicle, a subway, a bus, a neighbor's car, or a hot air balloon. Time does not automatically become compensation-required just because of what vehicle you are in. Time between home and the first job stop is not paid time; time between the last job stop and home is not paid time. Even if you are in a company vehicle.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Here is what the U.S. Department of Labor has to say on the matter:

Time spent traveling during normal work hours is considered compensable work time. 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. This provision applies only if the travel is within the normal commuting area for the employer's business and the use of the vehicle is subject to an agreement between the employer and the employee or the employee's representative.​

 

[ghurty]

To elaborate a bit. I am the employer and I got an audit from the Federal Department of Labor.

Our company policy has been to pay for travel to and from job sites if they are far away. I believed we were doing this as a courtesy and that it wasn't required by law. The employees are required to be at the job site, we don't care how they get to and from the job site. Some go in personal vehicles, some in company vehicles but to and from their house, others leave the company vehicle in the office and go to and from the office. This travel time sometimes puts them over a 40-hour workweek.

The auditor is claiming that being that they are driving a company vehicle to and from the office, then they are required to be paid (thus eligible for overtime). Even though I am not requiring them to drive to and from the office and they can take it home with them. I am trying to see if this is true. And if it is true, is it true even if they are the only one in the car, or if they go with someone else (because she said only the driver is required to be paid) but I am not requiring them to take a passenger.

Thank you

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

if they are far away.

You are going to have to help us here. When you say "far away" do you mean outside normal commuting distance?

A little deeper than @Taxing Matters went

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.

Typical Problems
Problems arise when employers fail to recognize and count certain hours worked as compensable hours. For example, an employee who remains at his/her desk while eating lunch and regularly answers the telephone and refers callers is working. This time must be counted and paid as compensable hours worked because the employee has not been completely relieved from duty.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/22-flsa-hours-worked

 

[ghurty]

If the employee is picking up or dropping off a vehicle from the office I let them clock in/out at the office.
If they are going straight from their house, then I tell them to clock in/out after they travel the amount of time it would have taken them to go to the office. So if their normal commute is 30 minutes, and the job site is 1.5 hours away, I tell them to clock in 30 minutes after they start driving. If they are passing the exit to the office, I tell them to clock in/out as they pass the office.

These locations are usually a max 2 - 3 hours away, not major road trips.

Thank you

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

These locations are usually a max 2 - 3 hours away, not major road trips.

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.

 

[ghurty]

These are not from job site to job site. This is from their home (or grabbing a vehicle from the office) to the one job site. If they live nearby they can go to and from the jobsite without every stopping by the office.

Thank you

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

These are not from job site to job site. This is from their home (or grabbing a vehicle from the office) to the one job site. If they live nearby they can go to and from the jobsite without every stopping by the office.

Thank you

I understand. Your biggest problem is the accounting of it all. You really need to simply tell people to show up at the site or tell people to come to the office. The latter gives you the benefit of workers not driving around in your cars all night.

 

[xylene]

You are subject to federal audit.

You need your own professional assistance.

 

[ghurty]

I understand. Your biggest problem is the accounting of it all. You really need to simply tell people to show up at the site or tell people to come to the office. The latter gives you the benefit of workers not driving around in your cars all night.

We have them clock in and out using a mobile time clock that keeps track and I can export this information.

Thank you

You are subject to federal audit.

You need your own professional assistance.

I am working on it, but in regards to my question about taking the vehicle to and from the office when not required to, the lawyer said she isn't sure and needs to do research on case law, so I was hoping someone hear may have heard about this before

Thank you