How Does Travel Pay for an Overnight Trip Work?

I have a specific question regarding federal and Virginia state law relative to non-exempt travel time.  My reading of Dept. of Labor, Dept. of Commerce and SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) information is that overnight/travel away from home are to be captured and paid as hours worked, and therefore, subject to OT premium if the employee exceeds 40 hours per workweek.  Please confirm.

Now for the details.  When does overnight/travel away from home begin and end?  Is it when the flight departs and arrives, or is it when the employee arrives at the airport and leaves the airport, or is it when the employee leaves his/her home to go to the airport, or is it when the employee arrives at his/her hotel?  Based on my reading, I think it starts when they get to the airport and ends when they arrive at their hotel; and we can subtract meal times that occur in between.

The other detail, within the detail above is if the non-exempt employee travel time is limited to “regular/normal work hours”.  This text was unclear but it seemed to imply that the employee can only charge a maximum of 8 hours/day while traveling – even if they spent 12 hours traveling that day.  That, or did it mean we the employee travel was limited to only 8 hours/day?

Please advise.

You are right about so much of this. Good job! The state of Virginia has very few Wage and Hour laws. The laws on travel pay are silent. So, we use Federal law for all of this.

Yes. Fact Sheet # 22 calls this time “hours worked”. The definition of hours worked is:  In general, “hours worked” includes all time an employee must be on duty, or on the employer’s premises or at any other prescribed place of work, from the beginning of the first principal activity of the workday to the end of the last principal work activity of the workday. Also included is any additional time the employee is allowed (i.e., suffered or permitted) to work.  Here is the full Part 785 Hours Worked.

OT: Overtime must be paid at a rate of at least one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay for each hour worked in a workweek in excess of the maximum allowable in a given type of employment. Generally, the regular rate includes all payments made by the employer to or on behalf of the employee (except for certain statutory exclusions). The following examples are based on a maximum 40-hour workweek applicable to most covered nonexempt employees.

Yes, you are correct. The waiting time is compensable if during the regular hours as mentioned below. Also, they are considered “Engaged to Wait”.

Waiting Time:

Whether waiting time is hours worked under the Act depends upon the particular circumstances. Generally, the facts may show that the employee was engaged to wait (which is work time) or the facts may show that the employee was waiting to be engaged (which is not work time). For example, a secretary who reads a book while waiting for dictation or a fireman who plays checkers while waiting for an alarm is working during such periods of inactivity. These employees have been “engaged to wait.” 

Per 785.40 meal periods are excluded from pay.

So, if the normal workday is 7am-6pm, the employee is paid 11 hours minus meals.

Let me know if you have any other questions!