Non Exempt Travel Time Guidelines

Definitions

1.      Regular Working Days:  The employee's regularly scheduled working days; typically Monday through Friday, or, as otherwise practiced in the work unit.

  1. Regular Working Hours:  The employee's regularly scheduled working hours, typically 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m., or, as otherwise practiced in the work unit.
  2. Non Working Days:  Those days which are not Regular Working Days, typically Saturday and Sunday.
  3. Working Time:  Time which will be accounted for as those hours for which the employee will be compensated.
  4. Home to Work Travel:  Travel between an employee's home and the regular work location.  This time is not compensable to the employee.
  5. Travel Status – the process of being in-transit to and/or from a destination.
  6. Working Travel Time:  Time during Travel Status, which will be accounted for as those hours for which the employee will be compensated.
  7. Day Travel:
    1. Ground / Day trip – Time spent traveling by ground transportation (bus, train, automobile) to an assignment in another city/town and returning home during the same day.
    2. Air / Day trip – Time spent traveling by air transportation (airplane, helicopter, etc) to an assignment in another city/town and returning home during the same day.
  1. Away Travel:
    1. Ground / Away trip – Time spent traveling by ground transportation (bus, train, automobile, etc.) to an assignment in another city/town which keeps the employee from home overnight; returning home on a subsequent day.
    2. Air / Away trip: Time spent traveling by air transportation (airplane, helicopter, etc.) to an assignment in another city/town which keeps the employee away from home overnight; returning home on a subsequent day.
  2. Normal Meal Time:  The prescribed time during the employee's Regular Working Hours which is allocated as Non-Working Time (unpaid) for meals.
  3. Principal Activity:  The primary duty(ies) or tasks of the employee's job for which the employee will be compensated.
  4. Incidental Activity:  Those activities performed by the employee which are related to the Principal Activity(ies) of the job regardless of when they occur, and include, among others, civic and charitable activities, equipment maintenance, shift changes, time spent on grievances, medical treatment, pre-employment activities, rest periods, on-call time, training and waiting time.
  5. Deliberate Ignorance:   When an employer knows or has reason to believe that an employee is continuing work after Regular Work Hours, and/or Regular Work Days.  Does not exempt the employer from liability to compensate the employee for those working hours, regardless of whether such time is recorded 

Accounting for Working Travel Time

  1. Any time spent while in Travel Status where the employee is performing Principal Activities or related Incidental Activates will be accounted for as Working Travel Time, whether or not on a Regular Working Day, and regardless of the time of day those activities are being performed.
  2. All time spent while in Travel Status that coincides with the employee's Regular Working Hours, whether or not it occurs on a Regular Working Day, less, the employee's normal Home to Work Travel Time, is accounted for as Working Travel Time.
  3. Time spent while in Travel Status, which does not coincide with the employee's Regular Working Hours, will be accounted for according to the type of trip (Day or Away) and mode of travel:

a.       Ground/Day trip –    All time spent (less the employee's normal Home to Work Travel) is considered Working Travel Time, whether the  employee is a passenger or the driver.

b.      Ground/Away trip – All time spent while driving (less the employee's Home to Work Travel) is * considered to be Working Travel Time.

* This UNMC provision of the guideline is more generous than the regulation requirements, in that a passenger would not have this time considered as Working Travel Time.

c.       Air / Day trip – As passenger – is considered Working Travel Time

d.      Air / Away trip – As passenger – not considered Working Travel Time.

 Questions 

Questions should be directed to: