New overtime rules

[teller80]

I've been asked to help plan next years salary budget based on the new overtime law that goes into effect in June. Our HR department hasn't been much help (their response was, "we'll let you know when we get further details", meanwhile the next fiscal year budget is looming).

Right now, if you are salary and make more than $23,000, your employer can work you more than 40 hours w/o additional compensation. The new law lifts the salary cap to $52,000, so those who make less than that will need to get paid time and a half for any hours over 40.

My problem is employees who travel, how do I compute their hours worked? This would be a typical scenario:

Saturday - fly to destination (3 hr flight)

Sunday - attend several events, each a few hours long but spaced out throughout the day. First event is 9-11 am, second is 4-6 pm, third is 7-9 pm.

Monday - same.

Tuesday - attend morning event that ends at noon but waits to catch a 6:00 pm flight because it's less expensive (or it may be the only one available).

How would you calculate work hours?

Saturday: 3 hr flight, plus the 2 hrs you have to get to the airport prior? What about travel to the hotel after you land?

Sunday & Monday - Are you 'on the clock' so to speak from 9am - 9pm? Or only while you're attending events?

Tuesday - Are you on the clock until the plane lands? I think it would be punishing the employee to assume from noon-6 is not company time.

Does anybody have any guidelines their company is suggesting? Thank you!

 

[JaxDad]

You might start with what the Feds do:

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-ove...fact-sheets/compensatory-time-off-for-travel/

 

[Allison]

There should be regulations (not guidelines) regarding travel time for non-exempt employees.

 

[teller80]

There should be regulations (not guidelines) regarding travel time for non-exempt employees.

Thats what I thought too, but I'm not finding them.

 

[wvjules]

For me, my (travel) time starts from the time I leave my home until the time I check into the hotel. If I am at the conference then head straight to the airport I am "working" from the time of the conference until I get back to my door." Each is charged to a different charge code though.

I'm exempt though so none of this really matters. lol


And if your company has a lot of travel and lots of over 40 hour people making less than 52K, salary expense is going to be huge!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

My employers have always paid hourly workers for any time they were outside their homes with the exception of commuting time.

In the scenario you describe: work day (while away) starts at 6:00 am, ends at noon, you wait until 6:00 pm for cheap flight - the employee would be on the clock continuously from 6:00 am until the flight home ARRIVED home (clocking out for meals though).

 

[sam_gordon]

I am exempt now, but when I was hourly, our travel process was explained to me as follows:

Driving
Clock starts from when you start to when you end. If you stop for lunch, you're "off the clock".

Flying (travel day only)
You get 8 hours regardless of flight delays

Flying (with work on same day)
I don't remember

ETA: What *I* would put on my timeclock in the OP:

Saturday: 8 hours (travel day)
Sunday: 9a-9p (subtract 60 minute lunch, 30 minute dinner) so 10.5 hours
Monday: Same 10.5 hours
Tuesday: start at whatever time I leave the hotel, clock out at noon for 1 hour lunch (minimum), then in probably from 2p-10p.

 

[Darcy03231]

Years ago I worked for company and my job involved travel (trade shows). I was paid as follows:

Day 1 (Thursday)- travel to location is from the time I left my house until the time I arrived at the hotel. If I was required to attend any evening events on behalf of the company it was until the time I was "off the clock." For example, I leave my house at 9 am to catch a flight to Atlanta. I arrive in Atlanta at 4 pm and get to the hotel at 5 pm. If there are no evening events I'm paid from 9 am to 5 pm. If, however, I have to meet up with a client, take them to dinner and then out for some type of entertainment and I don't get back to my room until midnight, I'm paid from 9 am to midnight.

Day 2 (Friday)- Trade show from 9 am to 5 pm. Attendance in the hospitality suites is required until 9 pm. I'm paid from 9 am to 9 pm.

Day 3 (Saturday)- Trade show from 9 am to 7 pm. Nothing in the evening is required of me. Paid from 9 am to 7 pm.

Day 4 (Sunday)- Trade show from 9 am to 7 pm. I then take clients out to dinner, to a show, bar/drinks after the show. I get back to the hotel at 1 am. I'm paid from 9 am to 1 am.

Day 5 (Monday)- Return travel home. Company has booked me on a flight at 6 pm. I'm paid as if I were at the office at 8:00 a.m. until I get home, say at midnight.

In this scenario I'm gone 5 days and over a weekend. According the company I've worked:

Thursday - 8 hours
Friday - 12 hours
Saturday - 10 hours
Sunday - 16 hours
Monday - 16 hours

Weeks ran Monday - Sunday. The company, knowing that I would be working over a weekend, would have had me not work on Tuesday or Wednesday prior to my trip so out of the 30 hours of I worked from Friday-Sunday, I would have 14 hours of overtime. When I came back I would not work Tuesday and would then have regular office hours on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday so I wouldn't have any overtime that week. They really tried to make it so they would have to pay as little overtime as possible.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

For me, my (travel) time starts from the time I leave my home until the time I check into the hotel. If I am at the conference then head straight to the airport I am "working" from the time of the conference until I get back to my door." Each is charged to a different charge code though.

I'm exempt though so none of this really matters. lol


And if your company has a lot of travel and lots of over 40 hour people making less than 52K, salary expense is going to be huge!

Yes, if these people travel frequently, it would probably be cheaper to give them a raise & make them salary.

 

[mnrose]

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs22.htm

The DOL website has quite a bit of information about travel time.

 

[Allison]

Yes, if these people travel frequently, it would probably be cheaper to give them a raise & make them salary.

Their job duties would still have to allow them to be classified as an exempt employee.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Their job duties would still have to allow them to be classified as an exempt employee.

True, but I also mispoke when I mentioned making them salary. Sounds like they already are.

 

[NotUrsula]

Other considerations aside, if your employee has his clock day extended past what he would normally work so that the company can realize a cost savings on transportation (such as cheaper airfare, etc.), then oh yes, you need to pay something for that time. At every company I've every worked, if we did that for the company, we were not only paid for the work time, but also awarded half of the savings as well.

So, for instance in your scenario, if the 6 pm flight is the only one available, the employee is paid up until that 6 pm flight lands at your home airport. If there was an earlier flight available, but the employee voluntarily agreed to take the later one to save the company $400 on the cost of the flight, my company would keep him on the clock until the 6 pm flight arrived, and also give him $200 extra for the inconvenience. (I've always been salaried when in travel positions, so clock hours didn't matter, but the $200 was mine, plus meals and entertainment during those "waiting" hours were covered by my employer as well, but within limits. Alcohol and "adult" entertainment are not reimbursable, and there is a dollar limit, so you couldn't decide to spend the time in a casino and get it covered, but if you wanted to go to a movie or a minor league ball game, or visit a museum, that was normally fine.)

 

[lovemygoofy]

I travel frequently for work as a non salaried employee. My work schedule is 40 hours a week Sunday-Saturday. Currently I have to flex during the week if I work weekends so i do not go over 40 hours.

I have to submit an itinerary when I travel to include my commuting and flight times. If I'm hosting a meeting or class during a travel weekend, that counts as work hours. Lunch time does not count as work. Travel time in the car if driving to a location counts but lunch does not. Driving to the airport and the 2 hours waiting for the airplane or any delays count. Travel from the airport to the meeting/hotel or whatever counts.

In the end I cannot go over 40 hours as I do not get OT. I have went over my 40 hours and just had to undercover flex time the following week.

 

[pat fan]

Darn, I thought this was football related. Imagine my disappointment

 

[sam_gordon]

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs22.htm

The DOL website has quite a bit of information about travel time.

Good find. Here's information about flying (from the link):

As an enforcement policy the Division will not consider as work time that time spent in travel away from home outside of regular working hours as a passenger on an airplane, train, boat, bus, or automobile.

 

[tvguy]

Good find. Here's information about flying (from the link):

Interesting, if I am understanding correctly, in plain English, if you our traveling the travel time is on your time, not on the clock.
Never worked for a business that did it that way. They normally considered you on the clock when you left your house for the airport, until you arrived at your hotel. However, there are often "side deals" made because travel for business in my has been considered a perk.
When I last traveled, we had a choice. Leave the night before, without pay, but the company would pick up dinner, a movie and a hotel room, and fly back the next night or take the 6 am flight the next day, work all day, get paid overtime, and fly back that night. We always went down the night before.

 

[endy]

Darn, I thought this was football related. Imagine my disappointment

I thought it was about hockey. Imagine my disappointment too. ☺

 

[sonnyjane]

Interesting, if I am understanding correctly, in plain English, if you our traveling the travel time is on your time, not on the clock.
Never worked for a business that did it that way. They normally considered you on the clock when you left your house for the airport, until you arrived at your hotel. However, there are often "side deals" made because travel for business in my has been considered a perk.
When I last traveled, we had a choice. Leave the night before, without pay, but the company would pick up dinner, a movie and a hotel room, and fly back the next night or take the 6 am flight the next day, work all day, get paid overtime, and fly back that night. We always went down the night before.

I've only done air travel regularly as a salaried employee. Right now I'm paid hourly and hardly fly, but do drive long distances twice a week for work. I don't get paid hourly for the time commuting, but I do get paid the .55 cents per mile rate which actually ends up being more than my hourly rate.

 

[dclpluto]

It seems to me since they are low paid they should get paid for their travel time.