Under state and federal law, normal home to work commute time is not compensable, Gregory C. Cheng, Esq., explained in an Employer Resource Institute webinar titled "Travel Pay in California: Proven Strategies for Avoiding Devastating Wage/Hour Lawsuits."

However, the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), which enforces travel pay laws in California, takes the following stand: Travel time involving a substantial distance from the assigned workplace to a distant work site on a short-term basis is compensable travel time (i.e., anything more than "de minimis" time).

Compensable time is measured by the difference between home to the assigned work place and home to the distant work site--not by distance due to traffic patterns in various regions.

On the other hand, if an employee is transferred for more than a month to a more distant location, the distant location becomes the employee's new assigned workplace. The DLSE has reasoned that employers are free to "transfer" an at-will employee, and the home to distant location becomes an ordinary commute.

Here are several points to keep in mind when it comes to travel pay in California:

• For employees with no fixed worksite (e.g., technicians, cable installers, etc.), there is a reasonable expectation that they will be routinely required to travel reasonable distances to job sites on a daily basis. Their "normal commute" would be from home to different job sites.
• If travel involved the employee being required to deliver any equipment, goods, or materials for the employer, the travel--no matter how extended--would be compensable.
• Each situation must be examined on an individual basis.
• A unique set of facts may impact your analysis of whether travel time is compensable (i.e., whether the employee is driving a company vehicle and what restrictions may apply, participating in a carpool, picking up tools or packages, being required to perform work at home before and after the regular commute time, etc.)

Gregory C. Cheng, Esq., is an associate in Ogletree Deakins' San Francisco office. He represents employers in all aspects of litigation in federal and state courts and in matters before administrative agencies. Also, he regularly advises clients on complying with state and federal employment-related laws, from wage and hour issues to discipline, termination, leaves, and internal investigations. Cheng earned his law degree from Rutgers University. He can be contacted at gregory.cheng@ogletreedeakins.com.