time in the truck

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C

Cooper Electrical

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hello all ... just a question about labor laws and general practices. I work for a company that I drive my personal van to and then leave to do work with his van. I get paid from the time I get there in the morning until I finish my last job. So the time spent driving back from the last job to drop off the company truck I dont get paid for . Most of the time it's only half an hour to a hour . So he starts us out our jobs as close to the shop as he can then spreads out from there so he doesnt have to pay travel both ways . I'm just wondering what standard practices are .... please any input would be great
 
Generally if an apprentice asks me if he will be paid from the minute he gets in the truck I offer to let them drive to the job in their own car.
 
Bob, got to disagree with you there. What is the "standard" at your company? If there is a fatality wreck on the way to the jobsite does the apprentice have to sit in the van with you for free? Are you proposing that he follow you to the jobsite in his personal vehicle? What if you are at more than one job that day? Does his time end and start back up upon arrival at the next job? Do you get paid to drive the van and the passenger rides for free? My jaw has officially dropped.:cool:

Edit to add: The minute I step into the truck 'til the minute I get out, whether I am riding or driving (I do both)

Andy at a merit shop in ATL
 
andinator said:
Bob, got to disagree with you there. What is the "standard" at your company?
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First it's not my company, I am a service / small construction Foreman for a large company.

I know the law.

There is no law that says an employee must be driven to and from the job.

The larger construction part of the company has all the workers drive to and from the job sights in their own vehicles on their own time.

Once we get into the service division things change a bit, if I know I am going to a bunch of calls in one day I can usually find a way to cover all travel time.

However if we are working T&M for 8 hours at one customer I do not charge that customer for travel time.

Now the apprentice can either catch a ride with me and save their gas and miles on their car or they can drive to and from the customers address on their own.

It is entirely their choice, if they had to follow me to another job they would still be on the clock.


Do you get paid to drive the van and the passenger rides for free?
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If I am getting paid they are getting paid, if I am not getting paid then they are not getting paid.
 
As for the men, they take the truck home they are expected to be on the job at a set time and go home at a set time. Their travel back and forth is on their time. At this point with gas going through the roof a truck is a major benefit, especially as most of my men now live 50-75 miles away from the average job. If at the end of they day they catch an emergency call we pay travel time home from the call.

On bid overtime jobs we give 1 to 1.5 hours extra pay for travel for emergencies we pay portal to portal.

With apprentices I try to make it easy on them if possible. Having the mechanics coordinate a convenient place for pick up. But it is no different for them.
 
brian john said:
At this point with gas going through the roof a truck is a major benefit, .
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Thats for sure, I filled up the truck on Saturday for about $90 and filled again by Wed morning for about a $100.

Between the gas I don't have to buy, the wear and tear I do not have to pay for and the insurance I don't have to carry the truck is a major kick in my pay.
 
If I am understanding this correctly, this is my perspective: If work starts at a shop, time starts at the shop. If work begins at a job site, time starts and ends at the site, no matter what you are driving. I have no problem with companies making allowances for out of the ordinary distances. Here in coastal NC, an 8 minute commute to work, time starts when I get there. My brothers lives in So. MD and works mostly in No. VA. Both of us ride for free.
 
In jersey we have to pay the employee any time he is in the truck, this state the auto medical insurance is covered by the comp insurance, so the employee must be on the payroll any time he drives the truck, or rides in the truck, many businesses try to get away with out paying, but if an employee is injured or injures someone else watch out your in deep doo doo.
 
To answer the OP, if you are REQUIRED to return to the shop at the end of the day, they must pay you. period. At least that is the law in MD.

Where I work All employees must begin and end the day at the shop, because there was too much abuse (guys leaving early, getting to job late) and last minute radio calls. (Just because I leave the shop heading to 1 job doesn't mean I won't be redirected on the way to another) We also don't get take-home trucks.
 
driving approx 2hr. ONE WAY from home to job and back, PAID
owner broke arm and couldn't drive well long distances

driving truck to / from and during day paid!!
noone else could drive
also had to drop off one to catch a bus so he could go back for evening lock-up at the big house
 
Seems to me, if you report to the shop instead of a specific job site then your time starts at the shop, at 7am or whatever your start time is. Likewise, your work day ends when you return to the shop with the company truck. As others have pointed out it would be different if you were reporting directly to the job site, but in the case of the OP I think the boss is taking advantage of him, especially by scheduling the furthest jobs for the end of the day and leaving him far away from the shop at the end of his shift.
 
owners decision

owners decision

This is the owner's call.It comes down to the man paying the bills and paying you on what he chooses to do. If an employee is injured in a company truck leaving the job, is this a worker's comp claim?
 
It is the owners call whether or not to require the person to return to the shop at the end of the day. If it is required, travel time = work. If you can go straight home, not work.
 
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