Drew Lewis
Employment Law Attorney
Last Updated:
- January 18, 2024
A comprehensive guide to travel time pay rules in California—when employees are entitled to be paid for travel time and how to recover those lost wages.
Unpaid travel time can exceed over $100,000 in lost wages, interest and penalties.
Find out how much of your travel time should be paid and how you can recover it.
Article Contents:
Section #1: Types of Travel Time That Should Be Paid
Section #1
Types of Travel Time That Should Be Paid
In California, employees are entitled to be paid for all “hours worked.” Whether or not you should be paid for travel time depends on whether the time you spend traveling meets the legal requirements to be considered “hours worked.” “Hours worked” includes:
- Time when you actually perform work (i.e. sending email, making phone calls, etc.); OR
- Time when you do not actually perform work (and might even be doing personal things like checking the internet, texting and making personal calls), but when your employer exercises enough control over you that the law considers it working time.
When is an employee considered to be "Performing Work"?
An employer must pay an employee for travel time if the employee is performing actual work during that time—when the employee is using his or his employer’s vehicle for work-related purposes.
Example:
John is a plumber. Each day, he must report to his employer’s headquarters at the start and the end of his shift. He drives his own van but he is required to transport tools belonging to his employer at all times. John is not entitled to be paid for the time he spends commuting between his home and company headquarters because even though he is hauling tools that belong to his employer, that does not add time or exertion to his commute.
Example:
Mary is also a plumber. Like John, she must also report to her employer’s headquarters at the start and end of each shift. She also drives her own van and is required to transport tools belonging to her employer.
Unlike John, however, Mary is required, on her way to work, to drive to a secure storage facility to pick up the tools she will use for that day. On the way home from work, she is required to return to the storage facility to unload the tools, clean them, and make sure they are locked up for the night.
Mary is entitled to be compensated for the time spent loading, unloading, and cleaning the tools, as well as for the time she spends traveling between the storage facility and company headquarters. This is because these activities add time and exertion beyond what her normal commute would require. In other words, she is performing actual work for her employer during that time.
When is an employee “subject to control” of the employer?
Many legal cases considering whether an employee should be paid for travel time focus on the issue of whether the employee was “subject to the control” of the employer during the travel time. The key question is what does your employer require you to do?
- Does your employer require you to travel to work in a company vehicle?
- Does your employer require you to travel to work in a company vehicle?
- Does your employer require to follow certain when traveling to or returning from work each day?
Examples where the employee should be paid for travel time
- When the employer provides transportation to a jobsite (example: a bus) and requires that employees only use that form of transportation to get to work.
- When the employee has already reported to the worksite at the beginning of a shift and then the employer instructs the employee to travel to other locations.
- When the employee is required to engage in overnight travel (for example, if the employee is required to take an airplane to attend a conference in another state, the employee must be compensated for time traveling, as well as time spent checking bags, going through security screening, etc.).
Examples where the employee is not entitled to be paid for travel time
- When the employee is making the normal commute between home and work.
- When the employer provides transportation to a jobsite (example: a bus or company van) but does not require that employees use of that mode of transportation to arrive at the job.
- When, during required overnight travel, the employee takes time to do personal things like go out to dinner, go sight-seeing, or sleep.
The determination of whether your travel time is subject to the control of your employer often involves a complex analysis of the facts, law, and circumstances. This is why it is important to consult with an attorney that is experienced in representing employees in travel time pay cases.
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Section #2: When Should You Be Paid For Travel Time?
Section #2
When Should You Be Paid For Travel Time?
Of course, commuting to and from work is not the only kind of travel a worker may want to be compensated for. Here are some other common issues that arise in the context of employee travel:
Travel when overnight stay is required
If you are required to travel and stay overnight for work, you might be entitled to be paid for the time you spend traveling. Common examples of travel for work where you are required to stay overnight include:
- Conferences
- Seminars
- Training
- Sales meetings
- Continuing education requirements
- Job sites
Time spent traveling to and from a business meeting or other event where you are required to be is compensable, whether or not the travel takes place during regular work hours, and whether or not the business trip includes an overnight stay.”
The California Labor Commissioner has taken the following position on travel involving overnight stays.
From the Law:
Time spent driving, or as a passenger on an airplane, train, bus, taxi cab, or car, or other mode of transport, in traveling to and from this out-of-town event, and time spent waiting to purchase a ticket, check baggage, or get on board, is … time spent carrying out the employer’s directives, and thus, can only be characterized as time in which the employee is subject to the employer’s control. Such compelled travel time therefore constitutes compensable “hours worked.”
Your employer only has to pay for this travel time if you are required to attend the event or travel as part of your job. If the employer is simply allowing you to take time off to attend a work-related event and you are not compelled to attend the event, travel time is probably not compensable.
Time spent taking a break from travel in order to eat a meal, sleep, or engage in purely personal pursuit not connected with traveling or making necessary travel connections is not compensable. The employee must be paid for all hours spent between the time he arrives at the airport and the time he arrives at his hotel. But once the employee reaches his hotel (or other destination) and is free to choose where he goes next, that time is no longer compensable.
Travel from one workplace to another in the same day
If your employer requires you to travel from one workplace to another in the same day, you are entitled to be paid for your travel time.
From the Law:
“[i]f an employee is required to report to the employer’s business premises before proceeding to an off-premises work site, all of the time from the moment of reporting until the employee is released to proceed directly to his or her home is time subject to the control of the employer, and constitutes hours worked.”
Example:
Immediately after arriving at the office on Monday morning, Anna’s boss tells her she needs to go to Costco (30 minutes away) to pick up food for the company holiday party.
Example:
Henry drives to the shop in the morning, loads supplies into his vehicle, and then heads out to the first job site for the day.
Both Anna and Henry must be paid for the time driving to Costco and the job site because they had already reported to work.
Travel from home to work when there is no fixed workplace
Generally your employer does not have to pay you for travel time from home to work. However, under some circumstances your employer does have to pay you for driving from home to work:
If you are required to report to a work location that is farther away than your normal work location.
Example:
Paula works in City A, a 15-minute commute from his home. Paula’s manager tells her she needs to work in the company’s office in City B for a week to cover for an employee that is on vacation. City B is a 30-minute drive from Paula’s home. She spends 15-minutes more (one-way) each day driving to the new location.
Paula’s employer is required to pay her for the 30 additional minutes each day she spends traveling to the new location
If you have been reassigned to a new office, then “normal” travel time rules where you are not paid for driving from your home to work, apply.
Sometimes it is unclear whether you have been “reassigned.” Sometimes your assignment at a different office is temporary. If you are expected to spend more than a month at the new office, the law considers the new office your permanent location, even if you later return to your original office.
If you have no fixed job site and are required to travel an unreasonable distance to get to work.
Example:
John is an electrician for a construction company in San Jose. John reports to job sites (and not an office) throughout the Bay Area and Sacramento areas each day.
Because John has to spend hours in traffic each day driving to different locations throughout Northern California, he might be entitled to be paid for some or all of the time he spends traveling.
Travel from home to work in a work vehicle
Whether or not you are entitled to be paid while traveling to the first place of work in your employer’s vehicle depends on whether or not you were required to do so.
Some employers provide ridesharing vans, buses or other forms of transportation for employees to get to work. Other employees have been provided a work vehicle that they drive home every day. If you use one of these employer-provided forms of transportation, but are not required to do so, then the time you spend traveling in the vehicle does not have to be paid by your employer.
This is true even if you carry company tools or materials in your work vehicle. However, in the case of transporting tools or materials in a work van, the time you spend each morning might be compensable if you are required to load/offload the items each morning/night in order to secure them.
Travel when you work from home (virtual or remote employees)
More than 8 million people now work exclusively from home. In California nearly 6% of workers work from home, a percentage that almost doubles when you look at some locations in the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles areas.
Remote Workers by City:
| Remote Workers by City: | |
|---|---|
| Berkeley | 11% |
| Santa Monica | 9.6% |
| Pleasanton | 9.5% |
| Palo Alto | 9.3% |
| Irvine | 8.8% |
| Roseville | 8.6% |
| San Ramon | 7.8% |
| Pasadena | 7.6% |
| Oakland | 7.1% |
| Remote Workers by City: | |
|---|---|
| San Diego | 6.9% |
| Santa Clara | 6.9% |
| Costa Mesa | 6.6% |
| San Francisco | 6.4% |
| Mountain View | 6.2% |
| Los Angeles | 6.1% |
| Sunnyvale | 5.3% |
| Long Beach | 4.6% |
For employees who work primarily from home, their home is considered the workplace. That means if you are required to travel to some other location by your employer, all time spent traveling to that location should be paid.
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Section #3: How Much Should You Be Paid for Travel Time?
Section #3
How Much Should You Be Paid for Travel Time?
You must be paid at least minimum wage or your regular hourly rate for travel time.
California law requires you be paid at least the minimum wage for all “hours worked” including travel time. Many cities actually have a higher minimum wage than the state. That means you must be paid the higher local minimum wage for the hours you work.
Cities & Counties with Higher Minimum Wage:
| Remote Workers by City: |
|---|
| Albany |
| Anaheim |
| Berkeley |
| Davis |
| Emeryville |
| Fairfax |
| Hayward |
| Irvine |
| Long Beach |
| Los Angeles (county) |
| Remote Workers by City: |
|---|
| Marin (county) |
| Oakland |
| Oxnard |
| Pasadena |
| Petaluma |
| Richmond |
| Sacramento |
| San Diego |
| San Francisco |
| San Jose |
| Remote Workers by City: |
|---|
| San Leandro |
| San Mateo (county) |
| Santa Barbara |
| Santa Clara (county) |
| Santa Cruz |
| Santa Monica |
| Sonoma (county) |
| Ventura |
| West Hollywood |
Cities & Counties with Higher Minimum Wage:
| Remote Workers by City: |
|---|
| Albany |
| Anaheim |
| Berkeley |
| Davis |
| Emeryville |
| Fairfax |
| Hayward |
| Irvine |
| Long Beach |
| Los Angeles (county) |
| Marin (county) |
| Oakland |
| Oxnard |
| Pasadena |
| Petaluma |
| Remote Workers by City: |
|---|
| Richmond |
| Sacramento |
| San Diego |
| San Francisco |
| San Jose |
| San Leandro |
| San Mateo (county) |
| Santa Barbara |
| Santa Clara (county) |
| Santa Cruz |
| Santa Monica |
| Sonoma (county) |
| Ventura |
| West Hollywood |
If you have an employment agreement stating that you will be paid a certain amount for any work performed, you must be paid that same rate for travel time. You do not have to have a formal written employment agreement. Oral agreements are fine too, and are actually the most common type of employment agreement.
The bottom line is that if your employer has promised you or has actually paid you a rate higher than the minimum wage for your “regular” work, that is the rate you are entitled to be paid for your travel time.
Employers can pay a lower hourly rate for travel time.
Your employer can choose to pay you a different rate for your travel time than it pays for your regular work. In some industries, it is very common to pay workers different rates for different types of work. Your employer can even pay you a flat rate for your travel time hours so long as that rate is equal to at least the minimum wage for all time spent driving.
If your employer chooses to pay you a different rate for your travel time, they must:
- Provide you notice prior to the travel time.
- Separately track your travel time.
- Separately list your travel time, including the total hours traveled and your travel time rate on each pay stub.
If your employer does not track your travel time, you should do so yourself. Often times employers do not (either intentionally or inadvertently) track this time. Even if you ultimately decide not to demand payment for your travel time, you should keep this information. It will make things significantly easier for you if you do decide to demand pay for travel time at a later date.
If you are a non-exempt employee and your company pays you a salary, you are also entitled to be paid for your travel time.
You might have thought that if you are paid by salary, your salary covers all “hours worked.” It does not. It only pays you for your regular (non-overtime hours). So if you work an 8-hour day, but spend an hour traveling each day that your company has to pay for, you have earned overtime that your company has to separately pay you for.
| Travel to Work | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 mins | |||
| Salary Doesn't Cover | |||
| Workday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00am - 5:00pm | |||
| Salary Covers | |||
| Travel to Home | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 mins | |||
| Salary Doesn't Cover | |||
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Section #4: How to Calculate Your Travel Time Pay
Section #4
How to Calculate Your Travel Time Pay
Calculating your travel time pay
Oftentimes, when an employee is required to travel for work and are entitled to be paid for that time, they are working “off the clock.” That means you are not being paid for that time.
Calculating what you are owed in most instances is straightforward and simple. You count the number of hours you spent traveling, determine if those hours were regular hours or overtime hours, and then multiply that number by the applicable pay rate.
The calculation is a little more complicated if you are a salaried non-exempt employee, you are paid by commission or receive bonuses, or you are paid a different/lower rate for travel time.
How to Calculate Overtime (based on Travel Hours)
| Regular Hourly Rate |
|---|
| Regular Hourly Rate 12 (hours) x $15 (overtime rate) = $180.00 |
| Lower Hourly Rate $950 (weekly earnings) / 50 (weekly hours worked) = $19/hour; $28.50 (overtime rate) x 10 (travel hours) = $285.00 |
| Salary $52,000 / 2080 = $25/hour; $37.50 (overtime rate) x 10 (travel hours) = $375.00 |
Sometimes employers will try to calculate overtime using only the lower rate paid for travel. This method is incorrect. And it is one reason the employer, if they are going to pay you a different rate for travel time, must show you on your paystub the total hours you traveled and the rate that they are paying you for those hours.
Tip:
Calculating overtime (and penalties and interest) can be very complicated. In California there are two types of overtime (overtime and double-time) and three different ways to earn overtime. Hiring an attorney to help you calculate how much you are owed is generally the best way to ensure you are paid for all time.
Reimbursement for travel expenses (mileage)
Employers must reimburse employees for reasonable and necessary work-related expenses. If your travel time becomes compensable (because it meets the requirements above), your travel expenses also become reimbursable.
The most common travel expense is mileage. Most employers reimburse mileage at the IRS’s mileage reimbursement rate. And the California Labor Commissioner has taken the position that if the employer reimburses at the IRS rate, it has satisfied its obligation. But employers do not have to use the IRS rate. They can reimburse for mileage at a lower rate, so long as the rate covers the reasonable expenses incurred by the employee.
| Year | 57.5 cents/mile |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 58.0 cents/mile |
| 2019 | 58.5 cents/mile |
| 2018 | 54.5 cents/mile |
| 2017 | 53.5 cents/mile |
Again, generally you are not entitled to be compensated or reimbursed for expenses incurred driving to the first place of work.
Section #5: How to Recover Your Travel Time Pay
Section #5
How to Recover Your Travel Time Pay
There are strict time limits for recovering your unpaid travel time
It is important to act quickly when you have not been paid all your wages. If you have a claim for unpaid wages, you can only recover those wages going back four years from the date you file a lawsuit.
Additionally, when employers fail to pay their workers’ wages, those workers are often times entitled to additional penalties and interest. But those damages have shorter recovery periods. You can recover interest going back three years, and only one year of penalties can be recovered.
Example:
John has worked for his company for 6 years. John’s company has failed to pay him 100 hours of travel time each of those years. John can only recover his unpaid travel time for the last four years of his employment.
| Year 6 | Year 5 | Year 4 | Year 3 | Year 2 | Year 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid Wages | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Interest | $1,000 | $2,000 | $3,000 | $4,000 | $5,000 | $6,000 |
| Penalties | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| Unpaid Wages | Interest | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 6 | $10,000 | $1,000 | $2,500 |
| Year 5 | $10,000 | $2,000 | $2,500 |
| Year 4 | $10,000 | $3,000 | $2,500 |
| Year 3 | $10,000 | $4,000 | $2,500 |
| Year 2 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 |
| Year 1 | $10,000 | $6,000 | $2,500 |
The 1, 3 and 4-year time period does not apply from the last day of your employment. Instead, it to the last years of your employment. Instead, it starts from the you file your lawsuit.
Example:
After John quit the company in January 2019. He waited one year until January 2020 to file his lawsuit. John can recover his unpaid wages going back four years from January 2020. Because he waited one year, he can only recover wages for three years of work with his company.
Recovering travel time pay while you are still working at the company
Many employees who are still working at their company might be reluctant to confront the company, either informally or legally, about being paid for travel time. Most are afraid that they could experience retaliation for requesting their travel time pay.
While those concerns are legitimate, the law protects employees who confront or complain to their employers about wage issues. Any employee who makes “a written or oral complaint that he or she is owed unpaid wages” is protected from:
- Discrimination
- Retaliation
- Firing/Termination
- Demotion
- Suspension
- Reduction in Pay
- Reassignment of Position
- Other Adverse Employment Actions
Employees are protected from actions likes these from the CEO and owner as well as from their supervisors, or in the case of companies where you work for a staffing company, from the Company where you are placed.
If your employer takes any of these negative employment actions because you complained about your unpaid wages, you might have a legal claim against it, allowing you to recover lost pay, emotional distress and punitive damages.
Tip:
If you are still working at the Company and would like to make a demand for your wages, it is always advisable to seek guidance from an attorney experienced in travel time pay disputes. An attorney can help you understand how much you are owed and the best options for recovering your wages.
Recovering travel time pay if you do not want to file a lawsuit
Some people do not want to file a lawsuit under any circumstances. Even if you feel this way, you may still be able to recover your travel time.
Most legal claims can be and actually are settled before a lawsuit is ever filed. If a company knows it has not properly paid you for travel time (because its lawyer has told them so), you have many options to resolve your case without filing a lawsuit. And there are many reasons why the company would want to settle before you actually do file a lawsuit.
If you are interested in resolving your case without having to file a lawsuit and obtaining maximum compensation (including interest and penalties), you should contact an experienced attorney to help you negotiate the settlement.
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Section #6: Choosing the Right Attorney
Section #6
Choosing the Right Attorney
If you decide to hire an attorney to help you recover your unpaid travel time, you should find an attorney that will listen to your situation, clearly explain the law, answer all of your questions and help you evaluate how much you are owed.
Your attorney should be able to add real value. Here are some questions that you can use to interview attorneys.
Questions You Can Use to Interview Attorneys
- Do you practice employment law?
- What is your level of experience dealing with travel time cases?
- Have you had favorable outcomes?
(Most attorneys will be able to answer this question. But they might not be able to tell you how much they have won in these types of cases if there is a confidentiality agreement in place. Attorneys are obligated to keep confidential settlements confidential.) - What do you think is the best strategy for handling my case keeping in mind my goals?
(tell the attorney about your goals for resolving the case) - How long will it take to resolve my case?
- What is your fee structure?
- What does your fee include and exclude?
The purpose of these questions is to help you evaluate whether the attorney will be a good fit for you. Your relationship with an attorney is no different than your relationship with any other any other person. Sometimes an attorney and a potential client are not a good fit.
After speaking with the attorney, consider the following questions:
- Was the attorney responsive?
- Did the attorney answer your questions?
- Did the attorney inspire confidence in you that he or she knew the subject matter?
- Is the attorney someone you feel you can trust?
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Section #7: Hire an Experienced Travel Time Pay Attorney
Section #7
Hire an Experienced Travel Time Pay Attorney
While most attorneys can “handle” a case involving unpaid travel time pay, experience matters. Our firm focuses exclusively on representing employees in disputes involving unpaid wages.
Drew Lewis has also represented numerous employees in travel time pay cases. After several days of trial, the firm recently settled (confidentially) a travel time pay case with a one of the firms’ clients’ former employer.
In the case, three employees were required to report to a company office before getting into a work van and traveling several hours to job sites. The employer did not pay the employees for their travel time. The confidential settlement resulted in a favorable outcome for the employees.
We provide free case evaluations for employees who want to know if they have a legal case against their employer. And we work on contingency which means we do not get paid unless we win.
