Does My Employer Have to Pay for My Travel Time?

What is Travel Time Pay and How Does it Work?

One of the most frequently asked questions relating to wage and hour issues involves employers paying for the travel time of employees before, during, and after normal working hours.
Under the Portal-to-Portal Act, an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers are required to pay for certain aspects relating to employee travel time.

What Does My Employer Have to Pay Me For?

Travel from worksite to worksite in the middle of the day
Travel before or after usual working hours (Example: if you require an employee to travel to a location on the way to work or on the way home from work, i.e. an office supply store)
Time spent at the airport and traveling to a specific location during out of town or overnight trips

What Doesn’t My Employer Have to Pay Me For?

Travel from home to work
Travel from work to home

Tips from Wage & Hour Expert, Attorney Scott Perlmuter

Transcript: Hey, everybody! Attorney Scott Perlmuter here today to answer, as usual, your questions about pay information and how your employer is required to pay you. So, one of the questions that I get, probably MOST frequently is, “Does my employer have to pay me for my travel time?” So, there are some general rules regarding payment for travel time that you should know. Travel from home to work at the beginning of the day, travel from work to home at the end of the day, is usually not compensable and your employer usually does not have to pay you for it. However, travel in the middle of the day, from worksite to worksite after you’ve arrived at work, that time is compensable and does have to be paid. As with any law, and as with, certainly, wage and hour laws, there are exceptions to these rules. So, for instance, if you are going to a different worksite at the beginning of the day that you usually travel to, some or all of that time may have to be paid by your employer. So if you have questions about your particular pay situation and whether your travel time is compensable, the best thing that you can do is call me, Scott Perlmuter at Tittle & Perlmuter, (216)-308-1522.

Contact a Wage and Hour Expert Today

If you believe your employer owes you compensation for travel time, don’t wait to take action. Call (216)-308-1522 or fill out our online contact form for a free, no-obligation consultation.
For additional resources on minimum wage, overtime, unpaid wages, and more, visit www.overtimelawyersohio.com.