Q: DOES TRAVEL TIME NEED TO BE PAID AS OVERTIME IN CALIFORNIA
We sometimes pay our employees an hour of travel time for commuting during high traffic time around Los Angeles. I do not believe we are required to because it is generally under 40 miles one way. However, in LA traffic that can mean 4 hours of drive time round trip. How can we pay them for that hour of drive time without it being considered overtime? or is there a better way to include that in their pay?
A:
CA Lab Law is employee-favorable. The risks and penalties for a labor violation can be drastic. Take the safe route (Pun intended) and pay employees for drive time, even if it results in overtime.
If you do not, and you violate a Lab. Law, one disgruntled employee can result in an Audit of all your payroll records for years back. Here is simple guideline from CA DLSE:
“The travel time is measured by the difference between the time it normally takes the employee to travel from her home to the assigned work place and the time it takes the employee to travel from home to the distant work site. This could calculate to no commute time if, for instance, the travel time is less from the employee’s home to the distant work site than the normal commute travel time by the employee.” (Cadell, Dept. of Industrial Relations (April 2003) Opinion Letter No.2003.04.22, Travel Time Pay for Employee with Alternative Work sites at p. 2.)
A:
If the travel time cause the employee to work more than 8 hours in a day, you must pay overtime for any time over the first 8 hours of the workday, even if that is travel time.
Good luck to you.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
