Out-of-town travel and pay

[Incognito]

If employees travel out-of-town for work and arrive at the destination early so they can hang out/sight see, would they be paid for the down time (not the travel), even if it occurs during normal business hours? I can't find anything on the FLSA website that indicates either way. If it would be paid, what is the reasoning?

Thanks.

 

[cbg]

Is the employee in question exempt or non-exempt?

 

[army judge]

If employees travel out-of-town for work and arrive at the destination early so they can hang out/sight see, would they be paid for the down time (not the travel), even if it occurs during normal business hours? I can't find anything on the FLSA website that indicates either way. If it would be paid, what is the reasoning?

Thanks.

Did your employer authorize you to arrive early, you know, to hang out and see the town?

Why do you think your (or ANY) employer wants to pay you to, you know arrive early to go sightseeing?

 

[cbg]

That's a very different situation, Natey, and not applicable to this question.

 

[army judge]

Army, but sometimes employers do tell you to go sightseeing on the company's t/dime!

My employer once told me not to show up at the client's location the next day, in the middle of a contract (due to some contract negotiation issue?).
When I asked them what I should do (client was in FL; I live in CA), employer said "why don't you go to the beach?". Not sure if they were kidding, but I did end up spending the day at a FL beach, and getting paid for it (I was an exempt employee).
FL beaches are nicer than CA beaches, but I digress...

This is your LAST warning.

Stop spamming threads.

This is your LAST warning.


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[Betty3]

Natey, you said you were an exempt employee. We don't know if OP is talking about exempt or non-exempt employees - the OP hasn't come back & answered cbg's question.

 

[DAWW]

In general:
- If an employee is both Exempt and Salaried, then "hours worked" no longer become legally meaningful because those employees are not paid based on hours worked. Not all Exempt employees are paid on a Salarid Basis and not all employees paid on a Salaried Basis are Exempt.
- For all non-exempt employees, "hours worked" are legally meaningful, but it is also legally meaningful for employees who are Exempt and Hourly.
- Assuming "hours worked" is legally meaningful, then the FLSA 29 CFR 785.xxx regulations determine what is (and is not) hours worked. The general rule is that if the employee is "engaged to wait", that is hours worked, but if the employee is "waiting to be engaged", it is not. Basically if you are free to use your time as you see fit, it is not hours worked. Even if the employee ordered you to go to another town, that by itself does not legally create hours worked. The following factsheet is a good summary of the federal rules. The rules have been around since the 1930s, there have been a huge number of court decisions, and pretty much all possible arguments were made and resolved a long time ago.
http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs22.pdf

 

[cbg]

Natey, do you know what annoying, less-than-helpful tangents are?