time in the truck

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cschmid said:
Bob that is alot of regulations to keep track of..
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Regulations......oh I don't pay attention to them. :D

Actually I have to take one 15 hour code class every code cycle to keep my MA and RI licenses and another 15 hour class every year to keep my CT license.
 
mrvoltamp said:
This is what happens when you require an employee to work off the clock.
Even if your WALMART.
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I think his point was it is just a small bump for a $218 billion company.

According to that link they have paid out about 50 million.

That is literally equal in value to the lint in my pocket to a $218 billion company like Walmart.
 
iwire said:
I think his point was it is just a small bump for a $218 billion company.

According to that link they have paid out about 50 million.

That is literally equal in value to the lint in my pocket to a $218 billion company like Walmart.
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That is true Bob but for the little contractor that could mean you are out of business just because some old employee got all bent out of shape and personally went after you legally..There is no insurance for the failure to follow the rules set by the authories who govern..
 
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
The department of labor. IF you move a work location to where an employee must commute more than 50 miles, they can quit and claim UE benefits. Surely you didn't think an employer could just tell an employee to meet him tomorrow at 7am 6 counties away, or in another State?
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did you get a chance to cite this? I did a pretty thorough search of DOL's website and couldn't find anything regarding this...
 
iwire said:
Regulations......oh I don't pay attention to them. :D

Actually I have to take one 15 hour code class every code cycle to keep my MA and RI licenses and another 15 hour class every year to keep my CT license.
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Bob, how come they make you take a 15 hour class, when I only need a 8 hour class in CT?
 
time in the truck

Time starts at 7am and 15min paid to return to the shop.
Our guys pick up at 3:15 for this purpose.
Those on service work must be billable minus the 15min to the shop.
 
The Law and what employers can get away with

The Law and what employers can get away with

The Law:

Federal employment law requires that you be paid for "travel time". I'd love to quote paragraph and verse, but this is how it works. I went through this years ago with an employers and my research led to this information from a Federal Govt. employee specializing in employment law:

You are required to be paid from the moment you start doing work - loading the truck or whatever - or from the time your employer requires that you be at the job, even if you are just standing around.

You are supposed to get two paid 15 minute breaks in an eight hour day, with a minimum of 1/2 hour for lunch - unpaid.

So, you work 8 - 4:30, with only an actual 7.5 hours of work.

Remember, this is the way it's SUPPOSED to be. Reality may vary.

Travel time: You are required to be paid when traveling to or from a job in a WORK vehicle.

HOWEVER ( here's the kicker) - your employer is only required to pay you the minimum wage for this time.

Even more bizarrely, your employer can dictate that you get paid different rates for different types of work, if you are willing to put up with that.

Minimum wage for, say, picking up the trash at the end of the day, or digging a trench - $15/hr for trimming - $34/hr for control work - $20/hr for pipe bending etc...

Not that I've ever run into a shop like that, but they could, if people would put up with it.

Bottom line: minimum wage REQUIRED for "travel time". Myself, I charge out at the full rate because that is what my time is worth to me and my employer knows I'll quit and work somewhere else if he requires me to collect $5/hr while I'm driving.

It all boils down to what you are willing to put up with as an employee - what level of abuse, intimidation and disregard you are comfortable with. There is always another job waiting around the corner - probably with better pay and a more agreeable boss.

:)
 
go back and reread the Federal DOL requirements...they are a little different....

paid travel depends on where you are required to report to...not what you are driving..

i.e. - you take a company van home, but drive directly to the jobsite and from the jobsite directly home...no pay for travel required.

you drive from your house to the shop (as required) and from the shop to the job, from the job back to the shop (as required) and then home (again, taking a company vehicle home) you are required to be paid from the shop in the am until you get back to the shop in the pm...not for your time from your house to the shop and vice versa...
 
David

David

;) I am an owner and if I had to pay my employees to drive to and from work I would have to include the cost in my bid. Then we would not have any work because my competition doesn't pay travel. I provide trucks and pay for the gas. If a guy doesn't see the benefit of that he can drive his own pov and pay for the gas himself. It's hard to make a profit in business and if all the money goes to the employees how do I get paid.
 
Right now I am just a little company so we drive either in my truck or they drive theirs with no reimbursement. When I worked for LARGE corporations AT&T and so on we got paid from the time we showed up in the am until we stopped at the shop in the pm whether we drove our own vehicles or not.

There are even times I take the helpers off the clock, since they can't help me or the journeyman with some tasks.
 
kbatku said:
It all boils down to what you are willing to put up with as an employee - what level of abuse, intimidation and disregard you are comfortable with.
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I would think the reverse is also true, it boils down to what the employer is willing to deal with.
There is always another job waiting around the corner - probably with better pay and a more agreeable boss. :)
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That does not always hold true.
 
In 30 years I have never been paid both ways on travel.I have never had an employer demand I ride in his truck so the ride was a benefit to me as I did not pay fuel cost.
 
David Channell said:
;) I am an owner and if I had to pay my employees to drive to and from work I would have to include the cost in my bid. Then we would not have any work because my competition doesn't pay travel. I provide trucks and pay for the gas. If a guy doesn't see the benefit of that he can drive his own pov and pay for the gas himself. It's hard to make a profit in business and if all the money goes to the employees how do I get paid.
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I don't think anyone has suggested that any employee should be paid for commuting from home to work, or work to home.
 
kid_stevens said:
Right now I am just a little company so we drive either in my truck or they drive theirs with no reimbursement. When I worked for LARGE corporations AT&T and so on we got paid from the time we showed up in the am until we stopped at the shop in the pm whether we drove our own vehicles or not.

There are even times I take the helpers off the clock, since they can't help me or the journeyman with some tasks.
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Exactly how does that work? Your helpers don't get a full weeks pay?
 
Rewire said:
In 30 years I have never been paid both ways on travel.I have never had an employer demand I ride in his truck so the ride was a benefit to me as I did not pay fuel cost.
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The grey area here is that an employer requires you to drive from job to shop, leave the truck, and then you go home. If the truck is necessary on the jobsite, you're returning your employer's tools and materials. You submit paperwork. This is part of the job. Why shouldn't it be paid?

How many employers charge this time to the customer, or include it in their overhead, but do not pay it to the employee? Those are the ones who need an attitude adjustment.
 
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