What do I do if my employer suddenly wants to stop paying me travel time to and fromthe job site?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What do I do if my employer suddenly wants to stop paying me travel time to and fromthe job site?
I am a mover and driver for a national moving company. For example: I show up to the office at 7:15 am, I get to the jobsiteat 8:30 am. This is 1 hour and 15 minutes from the office, which would be the same for the drive back to the office. But I am only allowed to charge the customer 30 minutes to and from the office. So the remaining 45 minutes each way, my employer does not want to pay me. This is absurd; drive time to and from job sites differ for each day.
Asked on October 28, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Your employer may be violating the labor laws; while you need to consult with an employment attorney about the specifics of your situation, since every case is different and depends on the precise facts, on the face of it, there is a violation.
Once you are at your office--that is, you've already done the morning commute--everything after that, until the day is over, is work. In particular, driving to a customer's location from the office would certainly be work, especially for a mover, where you *must* get to the customer's site to work. The fact that the customer can only be charged for 30 minutes would not affect your employer's obligation to pay you. If you are not paid everything to which you are entitled, you may have a legal action against your employer.
Note that if the employer has to go straight to the customer's, instead of going to work first, then the amount of time more-or-less equal to what your commute to work would have been is something for which you do not need to be paid.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.