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Most construction workers are paid by the hour. But that hour includes travel as well as time on-site. Once construction workers clock in at the beginning of the day, they need to be compensated for their time.
Here, we’re going to take a deeper look at travel time pay for construction workers, federal and state regulations, and how to best manage (and optimize) your construction travel time.
What Are the Federal Regulations for Travel Time Pay for Construction Workers?
The Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not address the issue of travel time pay for construction workers specifically. However, there are a few general provisions that may be relevant. Most importantly, the FLSA requires that employees be paid for all hours worked. This includes any time spent working at the job site as well as any time spent traveling to and from the job site, if the travel is considered part of the job.
Time spent traveling will further be included in work time when it comes to required breaks. If an employee is entitled to a break after four hours of working and they travel four hours to a worksite, they would immediately need to have a break upon arrival.
Note that no law that requires employers to pay employees for travel from their home to work. So, an employee’s commute from their home to their regular job site would not be factored in. However, if the employee is sent to a new job site further away on a temporary basis, the employee will need to be compensated.
What Are the State Regulations for Travel Time Pay for Construction Workers?
State laws and regulations related to travel time pay can vary widely. Some states have specific laws that address the issue of travel time pay for construction workers, while other states have no such laws.
Travel time is considered to be any travel time over the regular commute. Travel time must be paid at regular rates or overtime rates, but employers can set different rates for travel prior to the start of a job. It cannot be lower than minimum wage.
Regular work hour trips, site-to-site trips, and emergency home-to-work and work-to-home travel are all included in paid time.
An employee must be compensated for their travel time at the same rate as their regular wages.
A minimum wage must be paid for travel time.
Work travel time can be paid at minimum wage rates.
There are four types of travel: between worksites, portal-to-portal, one-day, and overnight. Travel pay is not due for portal-to-portal travel (regular commutes).
It’s important to know the compliance laws in your state—and it’s worth it to check with your board of labor in advance if you have questions about these regulations. In general, most employers will need to pay out employees at their regular rate for any business travel that is done during their work hours.
Improve Travel Time With Better Location Tracking Tools
The more time your employees spend traveling, the higher your labor costs will be—without any return on the investment. GPS tracking tools, such as Workyard, make it possible to optimize and improve your travel times.
With better location tracking tools, you can:
- See where your employees are in real-time. Dispatch the employees who are closest to a site and save on travel and mileage. Not only do you save money, but you increase your response time and client satisfaction.
- Easily produce reports for client reimbursements. If clients are paying for travel time, you have a complete paper trail. Workyard can generate reports at any time regarding employee labor and mileage.
- Identify inefficient uses of time. You can see where your employees go and what routes they take. Review your employee travel to identify areas of potential improvement.
- Review your reports when making new bids. Know exactly how much you usually spend on travel, so you can factor it into your costs. Avoid underbidding on a project by underestimating your travel and labor costs.
Improving your revenue is about having the right data. With Workyard, you’ll be able to track travel time for your workers with ease—and make sure that your payroll is accurate.
Track Travel Time Pay for Construction Workers With Workyard
Construction companies need thorough records of their employees’ travel time not only to comply with the law but to manage their expenses. When employees log into Workyard, it automatically starts tracking their location—so you always know where employees are and how far they’ve traveled.
Workyard is an all-in-one labor management solution from logging employee hours to logging employee mileage. In Workyard, you can easily see how far your employees have traveled, which sites they’ve visited, and how long they spent either in transit or on-site. It’s as easy as logging in.In addition, our mileage tracking allows construction companies to track the distance their employees travel for reimbursements, either from the company or the client. But don’t take our word for it. Try out Workyard for free and start tracking travel time pay for construction workers accurately today. Call or text us at 650-332-8623 to learn more.
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