Hourly employee payment question - travel and entertaining clients (profit, employer, work)

[anthonyfromMA]

My company is going to send me to a trade show for three days. Travel one-way is 5 hours by car (I will be going with my boss who will be driving his personal vehicle)

Does my employer have to pay me for the travel time of 5 hours there and 5 hours back?

Also, there is time setting up the booth at the trade show, the actual trade show itself and then I may be required to attend dinner to entertain important clients after the trade show is over.

I am an hourly employee, I assume I am entitled to pay for:

• The travel time (do I have to commute to my work first and then be driven to the trade show in order for this to count, i.e. if they pick me up at my home is the 5 hour drive considered my commute and thus not compensated?)
• Trade show setup
• Trade show
• Any time actually working in entertaining clients after the trade show

Obviously I don't expect to get paid for my hours sleeping in the hotel room, but want to ensure I am fairly compensated for my time as an hourly employee.

[JayCT]

I am going to move this to the Work and Employment forum. JayCT, Moderator

[skel1977]

When Work-Related Activities Count as Hours Worked - Free Legal Information - Nolo

[JayCT]

If I remember correctly you are a fairly new employee. You might gain some good will by not charging for any time over your normal work week hours. It will show that you are a team player and anxious to further your career and put in extra time needed. That could go a long way at promotion and raise time. Jay

[Squirl]

Travel time should be paid time in this case b/c you have no control over time of the trip or mode of transportation.
Set up time is paid time
Trade show is paid time
If dinner with clients is optional, not paid time. If it was okay to say "do you mind if I skip dinner" and your employer was okay with it, then that's optional. If your employer would likely respond: Sue, this is part of the trip and I expect you to attend all our functions, this would be paid time. Typically NOT paid time.

I consult with companies about this issue all the time.

[anthonyfromMA]

Originally Posted by JayCT

If I remember correctly you are a fairly new employee. You might gain some good will by not charging for any time over your normal work week hours. It will show that you are a team player and anxious to further your career and put in extra time needed. That could go a long way at promotion and raise time. Jay

All I'm asking is that my employer compensate me correctly based on their legal obligation for the work I put in.

My employer already makes a profit off my labor, I don't work to give away my precious time for $0/hr. That's not fair to me and I'm not asking for anything I am not due under the law.

Taking the "oh, I'll be a team player" approach is why so many people are taken advantage of by employers.

I stand up for my rights and I've already made it clear they weren't compensating me appropriately for the extra duties they started shoving my way after I was hired and I got a raise after 30 days.

A lot of people might sit back and be miserable and get taken advantage of, by not speaking up. But I know I bring value to the table, and I'm at a stage in my life where I'll speak up for myself to ensure I'm compensated appropriately.


I can't see being on the road for 10 hours, another 2 or so hours after being on the trade show floor all day entertaining clients, and away from home for 3 days without being appropriately compensated for time I could've spent doing a lot of other things.


And thanks to Squirl for your response, much appreciated

[mich2fla]

Back in the day when I was an hourly employee, I had to take a business trip on my off day. I wrote on my time card the number of hours I traveled until I checked into my room. I got paid for it. I never checked with my boss or anything. It was something outside of the ordinary.

[lovetheduns]

Originally Posted by anthonyfromMA

My company is going to send me to a trade show for three days. Travel one-way is 5 hours by car (I will be going with my boss who will be driving his personal vehicle)

Does my employer have to pay me for the travel time of 5 hours there and 5 hours back?

Also, there is time setting up the booth at the trade show, the actual trade show itself and then I may be required to attend dinner to entertain important clients after the trade show is over.

I am an hourly employee, I assume I am entitled to pay for:

• The travel time (do I have to commute to my work first and then be driven to the trade show in order for this to count, i.e. if they pick me up at my home is the 5 hour drive considered my commute and thus not compensated?)
• Trade show setup
• Trade show
• Any time actually working in entertaining clients after the trade show

Obviously I don't expect to get paid for my hours sleeping in the hotel room, but want to ensure I am fairly compensated for my time as an hourly employee.

When I was an hourly employee ALL of my time was paid while traveling IF and ONLY IF I was not able to make a choice and it was during normal work hours. (choice being the example I detail below about an hourly employee going to Europe for a monday morning meeting).

For example, if I chose to take an early AM flight and I was going to share a car with coworkers who were going to be coming in a later flight, I would be able to charge the time I left my house, got to the airport, the flight, and as soon as I stepped off of the plane- that is when I stopped charging. (i.e. if I chose to wait for my coworkers and go shopping or something). As soon as I picked up my coworkers time was charged back to the company including any commuting time to the hotel, etc.

If I left on the weekend versus traveling through business hours (because I wanted to get there early or something) then I would not be paid for that time. We had an hourly employee travel on a Sunday to get to Europe by Monday morning for a meeting-- she was paid due to the time she HAD to leave. But if she left on Friday night so she could be a tourist before the work week, she was not paid.

Trade show time is paid
Set up is paid.
I agree with Squirl- if dinner is optional it is NOT paid. If dinner is mandatory it is paid.

[rbcaw]

Wow this is my boss to the T. He wants me to travel to Chicago for a trade show on Friday work all day Friday and then drive down with 1 more co worker that dont have a license, and not get paid. Then sit there Sat. and Sun set up at 230 pm and work my ass off for 15 hrs a day and not get overtime eather. I would love to know my rights it is 17 hrs drive for me round trip and it is not pleasure. SO why do I have to go and not get paid to travel?

[jasper12]

Yes, you are paid for your travel time. Document the time you are picked up, as your start time, and the time you end work that day, as your end time. You should have your own hotel room, and also be paid for any meals that you eat while you are on this trip, keep the reciepts. To make your life easy, don't drink on this trip, or at least don't have it on any reciept you turn into your boss. Ask if you are given a set rate for per diem, or if he will just be compensating you directly for meals.

Any time that you work over 40 hours in week is OT, and should be compensated at 1.5 times your normal rate of pay, so if you work Monday-Friday 8-5, and your travel day starts on Friday, and ends on Monday, you would document the hours worked over 40 at 1.5 times your rate of pay.

This is business. You don't give your time away for free. Your boss, as a businessman, should respect anyone who deals with financial matters in a responsible, and businesslike manner. Which means, you need to ask this information of your supervisor, prior to the trip, and request the information in writing. That is businessliike, and that way there are no misunderstandings.