Question of the Month: Travel Policies

We were recently asked “We are currently revamping our travel policy and are looking for feedback as well as helpful hints or examples.

A few specific items are, potential client lunches/dinner pertaining to alcohol limits and pricing and hotel star rating with average price per night.”

Employers often question us about the protocols around travel policies and procedures. Here’s a snapshot of what matters most:

1. First, the law directly from the DOL:

Travel Time: The principles which apply in determining whether time spent in travel is compensable time depends upon the kind of travel
involved.

Home to Work Travel: An employee who travels from home before the regular workday and returns to his/her home at the end of the workday is engaged in ordinary home to work travel, which is not work time.

Home to Work on a Special One Day Assignment in Another City: An employee who regularly works at a fixed location in one city is given a special one day assignment in another city and returns home the same day. The time spent in traveling to and returning from the other city is work time, except that the employer may deduct/not count that time the employee would normally spend commuting to the regular work site.

Travel that is All in a Day's Work: Time spent by an employee in travel as part of their principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday, is work time and must be counted as hours worked.

Travel Away from Home Community: Travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight is travel away from home. Travel away from home is clearly work time when it cuts across the employee's workday. The time is not only hours worked on regular working days during normal working hours but also during corresponding hours on nonworking days. As an enforcement policy the Division will not consider as work time that time spent in travel away from home outside of regular working hours as a passenger on an airplane, train, boat, bus, or automobile.

2. Know you can pay a lower rate for travel time, which is not an issue with exempt employees.

3. Travel policies can involve a host of concerns::

4. Involve those who travel in setting up your policy. That way they can "own it". As somebody who travels frequently I would recommend you open a corporate account with a Marriott, Hilton or Holiday Inn and have folks stay at the Hampton Inns, Doubletree, Holiday Inn Express and similar lodgings for best value. I'd also open up a SWA or Alaska Airlines account for air travel. Require them to book at least 3 weeks in advance if they can. I'd let the employees keep their points. 

5. As for alcohol consumption and entertainment I'd limit their consumption to 2 drinks. Cost of meals will vary with the circumstances. If you are concerned about it going over a stated amount you can ask them to check in with somebody first to get approval. 

To learn more go to http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/workhours/traveltime.htm#doltopics 

Don Phin, Esq. is VP of Strategic Business Solutions at ThinkHR, which helps companies resolve urgent workforce issues, mitigate risk and ensure HR compliance. Phin has more than three decades of experience as an HR expert, published author and speaker, and spent 17 years in employment practices litigation. For more information, visit www.ThinkHR.com.