Question: If an hourly employee is asked by the employer to travel on the weekend by airplane, so he or she will be available to report to the worksite first thing Monday morning, would the travel time be compensable?

Diane
Ramsey, Florida

Answer: No. The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (often called “FLSA”) provides that out of town travel, not on a regular workday, spent as a passenger on an airplane, train, boat, bus or automobile is not compensable.

Additional help on matters of compensable time, overtime, meal times, travel times, on-call times and the like is available on the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Wage and Hour Division’s website, www.wagehour.dol.gov, or by calling their helpline at 1-866-487-9243.

Best, Al Sklover

© 2009 Alan L. Sklover, All Rights Reserved.