Does your employer have to pay for your travel time to and from a work site? Find out here.
Dear Janet,
I work for a small construction company whose employees come in to load up their trucks in the morning, drive from job to job during the day, then return the truck back to our facility at the end of the day.
The owner has been paying the employees an hourly wage based on the hours they work from the time they arrive at the first job until they leave the last job. He says he doesn’t have to pay for their travel time to the first job or back from the last job. Is this legal?
–Wondering in AZ
Dear Wondering,
No, it’s not legal under the circumstances you describe. By law, employees who are required to report to a meeting place a the start of a job and return back to a designated place at the end of a job, must be paid for their travel time to the first job and back from the last job.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Business Know-How(tm) provides general information only and should not be considered individual advice. Consult your own attorney, accountant or other advisor before taking any actions that might lead to adverse consequences for your business.
