The Ins and Outs of Pay for Travel Time and Pay for Transportation Expenses For Massachusetts Employees
Determining Travel Time Pay Requirements Under the Massachusetts Wage Act
EMPLOYEES IN FALL RIVER, PITTSFIELD, WORCESTER, SPRINGFIELD, LOWELL, Lawrence, NEW BEDFORD, AND THE CAPE MAY BE ENTITLED TO pay for time spent traveling for work
Massachusetts employees frequently travel for work for a number of different reasons. Some commute a long distance to work and some drive during the workday. Should these employees be paid for their commute to and from work, any travel time during work, and any transportation expenses? As shown below, the answer to that depends on the circumstances.
Importantly, the rules below only protect employees engaged in an “occupation,” something defined to exclude outside salespeople who regularly sell a product or products away from their employer's place of business and who do not make daily reports or visits to the office or plant of their employer.” The full definition of “occupation” can be found at M.G.L. ch. 151 s. 2.
does my massachusetts employer have to pay me for time spent commuting or traveling to and from work?
Generally speaking, “No,” employers do not need to compensate employees for time spent traveling to work in the morning and home from work at night. According to Massachusetts regulation 454 CMR 27.04(4)(a): “Ordinary travel time between home and work is not compensable working time.” There are, however, two situations where your employer may be required to pay you for your commute.
Commuting to a location other than your primary workplace. Massachusetts regulations state that an employer does have to pay employees for travel time to and from work “if an employee who regularly works at a fixed location is required to report to a location other than his or her regular work site.” 454 CMR 27.04(4)(b). In those situations, “the employee shall be compensated for all travel time in excess of his or her ordinary travel time between home and work.” 454 CMR 27.04(4)(b).
For example, an employee who lives in Springfield and works in Chicopee would have a total daily commute of around 30 minutes. If that employee is assigned to work in Boston for a week, that daily commute would increase to approximately three hours a day, for an increase in travel time of 2.5 hours per day. That employee should be paid for 2.5 hours of travel time per day due to the increase in commuting time. This would not apply if the employee is permanently transferred to work in Boston as, in that situation, the Springfield-to-Boston commute would become her ordinary commute.
Working at home before or after the commute. Generally speaking, you are entitled to be paid for your commute if that commute happens after you’ve already begun working. For example, say you are a nurse working for a in-home health care organization and you start each day, at your home in Worcester, checking emails, making phone calls, and reviewing details on that day’s assignments. Once you’ve completed that, you drive to your first assignment. In that situation, your employer should pay you for the time spent working at home and the time spent driving to your first assignment. This rule also applies to situations when employees perform work at home after commuting back to their house. That’s not always the case…there are some situations where a court may determine that the pre-commute work does not convert the commute into compensable time. That usually happens when a court determines that the pre-commute work is merely incidental to the commute.
according to massachusetts law, does my employer have to pay me for time spent traveling to a work site if they require me to report to the main office first?
Yes, Massachusetts employers are required to compensate employees for time spent traveling during the day if they are required to report to a certain location first. As stated in the regulations: “If an employer requires an employee to report to a location other than the work site or to report to a specified location to take transportation, compensable work time begins at the reporting time and includes subsequent travel to and from the work site.” 454 CMR 27.04(4)(c).
For example, say you live in Fall River, work for an HVAC company with a warehouse located in New Bedford, are working on a job site located in Worcester, and your employer requires you to drive to the warehouse in New Bedford at the beginning of the day to pick up tools before driving to Worcester and then drop off the tools at the warehouse at the end of the day. Thus, your daily routine consists of driving from Fall River to New Bedford to Worcester to New Bedford to Fall River. According to Massachusetts law, your workday starts when you arrive at the warehouse in New Bedford at the beginning of your shift and ends when you arrive back there at the end of your shift. That means, your employer must pay you for time spent at the warehouse in New Bedford loading your truck, time spent traveling from the warehouse to the job site, time spent traveling from the job site to the warehouse, and any time spent loading/unloading/working at the warehouse at the end of your shift.
does my employer have to pay me for time spent traveling or driving during the workday under massachusetts law?
Yes, Massachusetts employers must pay their employees for time spent traveling during the workday. As stated in the regulations, “an employee required or directed to travel from one place to another after the beginning of or before the close of the work day shall be compensated for all travel time.” 454 CMR 27.04(4)(c).
For example, say you are a pizza delivery driver, a home visiting nurse, or a salesperson. If you are one of those, you likely spend a lot of time driving during your workday, either delivering pizzas, driving to patients’ homes, or driving to potential sales targets. According to Massachusetts law, your employer has to pay you for all time spent driving to and from those locations.
according to massachusetts law, does my employer have to reimburse me for mileage and other transportation expenses?
Yes, Massachusetts employers must reimburse their employees for mileage and other transportation related expenses. As stated in the regulations, employees “shall be reimbursed for all transportation expenses.” 454 CMR 27.04(4)(d). That means, your Massachusetts employer must reimburse you for mileage if you drive your car for work purposes. Read more about mileage reimbursement requirements here.
Are you an employee living in Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester, Lowell, Fall River, New Bedford or the Cape? Are you not getting paid for travel time or reimbursed for mileage? Contact Steffans Legal today for a free consultation.
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