In Ohio, when traveling is required by an employer as part of the job or if it happens during work hours, it is considered paid or compensable travel time. This includes driving to a job site, running errands for a boss during work hours and transporting work-related equipment. Normal commutes to and from work are not paid.
Workers who believe they were not properly compensated may want to speak with a wage and hour attorney in Cleveland about their rights.
The State of Ohio abides by the same paid travel time rules as in federal law, established by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under these rules, employers are legally required to pay employees for travel time that occurs during a workday. If you are already clocked in and have started your workday, any required travel after that must be compensated as time worked.
This may include:
Travel time to another city or state, as well as overnight travel, must be paid, including on weekends and holidays. If traveling cuts across the employee’s regular working hours, it is paid time. Traveling as a passenger outside of work hours is not paid, but driving a vehicle for the employer is paid.
Note that reimbursement for travel expenses, including mileage, fuel, hotels and per diem, are not part of paid wages. Legally, these are two different categories of compensation. You should still be paid for your compensable travel time in addition to any travel expense reimbursements offered by your employer.
Commuting to work from home and back does not constitute paid work time, even if the employee is driving a company vehicle. A daily commute to a regular, fixed job site is not part of an employee’s paid working hours. Paid travel does not begin until the employee gets to work and clocks in.
However, there may be an exception if the daily commute is heavily controlled or restricted by the employer, or if the employee is required to perform work-related tasks before, during or after the commute. In these situations, time spent traveling may constitute paid hours worked under federal law.
Paid travel time in Ohio must be included in overtime calculations. If an employee gets paid for travel time as part of his or her work hours, this will count toward overtime pay. If the employee works more than 40 hours in a single workweek, including paid travel time, he or she is legally entitled to 1.5 times his or her regular rate of pay for each hour worked thereafter.
Keep careful logs or timesheets documenting your travel time for pay purposes. Track every minute you spend traveling for work, not including your daily commute. Write down addresses you travel to, the start and end times of your drives or flights, and your mileage and routes. Submit this travel time based on the procedures at your workplace.
If your employer is not properly paying you for travel time that should be paid under state and federal law, take action with help from the attorneys at Scott & Winters Law Firm, LLC. Our employment lawyers can help you seek fair back pay and financial compensation for this legal violation. Contact us to schedule a free review of your case.
