When is an employee entitled to travel pay?
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When is an employee entitled to travel pay?
I drive to a meet spot made by my employer, an hour or so before my shift starts. Then myself and other employees get in to a company car and drive to the work site, which can be an hour or more. The person driving the car gets paid there full wage the whole time. Everyone else gets minimum wage after the first hour.
Asked on June 19, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Washington
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
1) Salaried employees are not paid travel pay (unless the employer voluntarily chooses to do so).
2) Hourly employees should be paid travel pay a) for travel to/from the place of employment to a job site; or b) if meeting not at the place of employment, after an amount of time more-or-less equal to their normal commute (that is, if someone normally takes 1/2 hour to get to work, in theory he/she should be paid, if meeting for work elsewhere, after the first 1/2 hour of travel).
3) An employer may set a different wage or rate for different aspects of the job, so it would be legal, in the absence of an employment contract to the contrary, to pay "passenger" employees at minimum wage.
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