Fri, 01/08/2021
On New Year’s Eve, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued an Opinion Letter addressing whether travel time during the workday is compensable. DOL Opinion Letters generally answer questions about federal labor laws, explaining how federal laws apply in specific circumstances and clarifying federal labor laws that may have otherwise been confusing.
In Opinion Letter FLSA 2020-19, DOL clarified that an employee’s travel time for personal appointments during the workday is not compensable. Generally, the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requires employers pay workers at least the federal minimum wage for every hour that they work. 29 U.S.C. §§ 206-207. The FLSA does not require payment for time when workers are “off duty,” or when they have periods of time they can effectively use for their own purposes. 29 C.F.R. § 785.16(a). Similarly, normal commuting, between home and work before a regular workday, or between work and home at the end of the workday, is generally not compensable. 29 C.F.R. § 785.38. There are some exceptions to that rule, however, such as when an employee travels from worksite to worksite during the workday.
This exemption raises questions about whether employees are entitled to be paid for time spent traveling from their workplace (including their home, if it is a remote work site) to another location, such as school or a doctor’s appointment, and then home to continue work during the workday. The new Opinion Letter explains that travel time in these teleworking circumstances is not compensable, because the employee is either “off duty” while attending to their own activities, or engaged in normal commuting. Similarly, the travel cannot be considered “worksite to worksite” because travel for personal reasons is not part of an employee’s principal activity.
For more information on MSE’s work securing overtime compensation for employees, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/practice-areas/unpaid-regular-pay-overtime. If you believe your employer has failed to pay you for all of your work time, including travel time, contact us at info@mselaborlaw.com or 202-833-8855.
