If an employee injures third parties while working, you as the employer can be held liable for those injuries. Normally, an employee’s regular commute to and from work is not considered to be “working” time, so employers aren’t responsible for accidents that happen then.
But what about an accident that happens when an employee is returning from a work-related conference?
Marc Brandon was a vice-president with Los Angeles-based Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. After flying back from a conference in Sunnyvale, Brandon picked up his car from the airport and started driving home. During the drive, he collided with another car. The two cars also hit three pedestrians, one of whom died.
The two injured pedestrians, along with the estate of the third who died, sued Warner Bros. The trial court dismissed the case on the basis that an employer is not responsible for injuries that occur during an employee’s regular commute.
But the Court of Appeals disagreed, holding that when an employee is on a business trip, the trip does not end until the employee reaches his or her home. If Brandon was responsible for the auto accident, then Warner Bros. may be held liable for the injuries to third parties caused by the accident.
Lots of Tricky Rules and Exceptions
Thankfully, situations like the one above are pretty rare. But wage/hour questions and missteps arising from employee travel are not, since travel is an integral part of most everyone’s workday.
Unless your workforce is home-based, your employees are commuting to and from the workplace, to and from job sites, and to and from hotels, airports, and conferences when they’re on business trips. Even telecommuters may be entitled to pay for travel time in certain instances.
Additionally, the increase in complaints is of particular concern for employers in California because wage/hour claims have the potential to evolve into gigantic class-action lawsuits. And, as always, California’s employee-friendly wage/hour laws impose additional burdens on employers.
Wage & Hour Road Rules for HR: Travel Pay in California Explained
Don’t miss our special webinar coming up next Monday, the 17th — specifically for California employers. You’ll learn:
- Two key issues you MUST grasp when determining whether travel time is work time
- What certain language means in plain English, such as “travel for the convenience of the employer” and “continuous workday rule”
- When home-to-work travel may be compensable and should be considered something more than standard commute time
- If taking work home for safety or privacy reasons renders commuting time compensable
- Pay obligations when an employee leaves work only to return due to an emergency situation
- Whether travel between job sites is compensable
- How to compensate employees when travel takes them away from their home community
- What happens when employees work several days straight and then have consecutive days off with the option to travel home before returning to work
- How employees who go from home to work on a special one-day assignment in another city should be compensated
- When attendance at an out-of-work lecture, training, or conference is not considered working time
- Your options when the employee is offered public transportation but elects to drive their own vehicle
- When “riding time” may still be work time
- The point at which the work-time clock begins to run if you direct an employee to a pick-up spot
- Telecommuter entitlements for travel time pay
- How laptops and smart phones affect payment for travel
- And more!
In just 90 minutes, you’ll learn everything you need to know to stay in compliance with the latest wage & hour laws affecting employee travel time compensation. Register now for this must-attend event risk-free.
Can’t make it next Monday? Order the CD and learn at your leisure.
Download your free copy of Paying Overtime: 10 Key Exemption Concepts today!