• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Do you have to pay for employees travel time to their first job site, if they use the company vehicle from their own home?

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

What is the name of your state? FL
For example: Employee normal hours are 8 am -5 pm.
Their first job of the day is to go straight to job site using the company vehicle that they parked overnight at their own home. If they leave there house lets say at 7:30 am and it takes them 30 minutes to get the job site by 8 am or even if they had to come in the employers business office to pic up a part, etc, does the employer have to pay for their travel time outside of the normal official start time?
 


LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? FL
For example: Employee normal hours are 8 am -5 pm.
Their first job of the day is to go straight to job site using the company vehicle that they parked overnight at their own home. If they leave there house lets say at 7:30 am and it takes them 30 minutes to get the job site by 8 am or even if they had to come in the employers business office to pic up a part, etc, does the employer have to pay for their travel time outside of the normal official start time?
What makes you think that they should perhaps be paid for that travel time? Is it just because they are driving a company vehicle? If so, that is not the case. Their travel time to work is on their own time, not the company's.

The only exception to that might be if you send them out of town to work.
 
We have heard similar radio adds from Lawyers stating some of these examples for unpaid employee wages. But these driving times to job sites
are always between 30 minutes and 60 minutes for the first job site of the day.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
We have heard similar radio adds from Lawyers stating some of these examples for unpaid employee wages. But these driving times to job sites
are always between 30 minutes and 60 minutes for the first job site of the day.
That might be pushing the envelope. When you said 7:30 that indicated 30 or less minutes of travel. When its an hour, and its not the employees choice to have such a long commute (they didn't opt to live that far from work), then its pushing the envelope. I think that you should pay them for anything over 30 minutes.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Please clarify: Is that a personal opinion or is it a requirement under the law in the OP's state?
I am saying that when push comes to shove, an employer who requires an employee to drive 1 hour to get to a job site, should probably be treating that time as time on the clock. On a federal level it would be iffy if they could get away with not paying them. I have not researched OP's state, but any state law that is not in line with the federal law would be even more restrictive.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I am saying that when push comes to shove, an employer who requires an employee to drive 1 hour to get to a job site, should probably be treating that time as time on the clock. On a federal level it would be iffy if they could get away with not paying them. I have not researched OP's state, but any state law that is not in line with the federal law would be even more restrictive.
I drive an hour every day to my worksite...there's no law that says my employer has to pay me...
 
Yes, we currently pay past 30 minutes and will continue too do so, but i too was looking for whats FL state employment law on this..?
I have had some employees state that they should even be paid for less the 30 minutes of travel from home, and i would like to show them some type of law on this issue in writing. Morgan and Morgan ran this particular issue add on radio a while ago, but i am sure the fine print cannot be all said in a radio ad.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What is the name of your state? FL
For example: Employee normal hours are 8 am -5 pm.
Their first job of the day is to go straight to job site using the company vehicle that they parked overnight at their own home. If they leave there house lets say at 7:30 am and it takes them 30 minutes to get the job site by 8 am or even if they had to come in the employers business office to pic up a part, etc, does the employer have to pay for their travel time outside of the normal official start time?
Your question is still a bit vague in that there are several different possible scenarios that can apply. What are the jobs that the employees do? Do they always go straight to the job site, or do they generally come to the office first? You would be wise to seek a consultation with a local employment law attorney to review your specific situation(s) and give actual advice.

As much as LdiJ wants to make you think there is some sort of 30 minute rule, there simply is not.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
We have heard similar radio adds from Lawyers stating some of these examples for unpaid employee wages. But these driving times to job sites
are always between 30 minutes and 60 minutes for the first job site of the day.
It's not the travel time that matters. Heck, in each of the various large cities I've lived over the years travel just from one side of town to the other could easily take an hour during rush hours. The rules for work hours for nonexempt employees under federal law are set by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA). Under those rules, generally the time spent by an employee traveling from home to the employee's regular work site and the travel home from that work site is commuting time and not part of work hours. That's true even if the work site for the employee changes each day, so long as it's in the same city/metropolitan area.

But if the employee has to travel from one place to another for work during the day after arriving to his/her regular work site, that travel is work time. And travel to other cities for work, even if it is travel from home to the other city is work time, too, though the employer can deduct the employee's usual commuting time from that.

You'll find a summary of the travel rules by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on it's Fact Sheet #22. If you want to see the actual DOL regulations that provide more detail, then you'll find that here: 29 CFR Subpart C.
 
In home Appliance Repair Service.
On certain days they go straight to job, and some days go straight to office.
Designated days of week for these issues. Some days may take 30 minutes or some days may take 55 minutes or more depending on traffic on both
start of work day areas. Didn't know if there was a difference since the company provides a company vehicle if that mattered. There has to be some rule on this on these type of issues, that is what i was looking for. I understand that going to a job that is over a hour vs going straight to office, but looking for maybe a law on this. But then again if an employee takes 1 hour to go to the office location (place of employment) dues to traffic, but normally takes 30 minutes or less. Where is the line, and who is responsible for wages?
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
Yes, we currently pay past 30 minutes and will continue too do so, but i too was looking for whats FL state employment law on this..?
Florida is not a state that has extensive labor laws. So far as I can see from a quick search Florida does not have any rules for compensating travel time. In that case, it would be just the federal rules you need to be concerned about. Your company really ought to consult an employment law attorney to ensure your policies meet what the law requires.
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/traveltime
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.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
I drive an hour every day to my worksite...there's no law that says my employer has to pay me...
Yes, but you chose to take a job that was one hour away from where you live. So, that is your normal commute that you voluntarily took on. Other people have even longer commutes than yours. Other than quitting their jobs because some jobs that the employer chooses to take on are an hour away, these employees have no choice in the matter.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top