in Walters v. Professional Labor Group LLC.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit will decide whether an employee's travel time to and from a remote job site that requires an overnight stay is compensable.
On April 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) filed an amicus brief asking the Seventh Circuit to uphold the district court's holding that employers must pay for such travel time. , asked the district court's ruling to be extended to include off-hours travel time. working time. If the Seventh Circuit adopts her DOL position, it could significantly expand the range of compensable travel time for Seventh Circuit nonexempt employees who travel to remote job sites.
quick hit
- 7th Circuit decides whether time spent driving to and from a remote job site that requires an overnight stay is compensable.
- The district court held that travel time incurred during normal working hours is eligible for compensation.
- In its brief, the DOL agreed with the district court's conclusions but argued that the compensable travel time at issue should not be limited to travel time during normal work hours. Rather, the DOL argued that it should include all travel time employees spend driving to and from remote job sites that require an overnight stay.
summary
Professional Labor Group, LLC (PLG) employs skilled tradespeople and contracts with clients to have them available to work on selected remote locations and industrial projects throughout the country. As non-exempt employees, tradesmen typically travel from their homes to remote job sites and stay in lodging near the site, sometimes for days or weeks during each project. PLG did not provide transportation to and from these night shift jobs. At the end of a night's work, employees either went home or went straight to another night job. PLG did not compensate employees for time spent traveling to and from night shifts or between night jobs.
On November 11, 2021, James Walters, personally and on behalf of similarly situated employees, filed a class action lawsuit against PLG in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The complaint alleges that PLG violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by not paying employees for travel time to and from their hometowns or for night shift work, and by depriving them of overtime pay. On August 25, 2023, the district court granted summary judgment against Walters, holding that PLG was liable for overtime violations resulting from its decision not to pay for travel time.
The district court concluded that “PLG employs craftsmen who travel to remote sites and work there, staying for days or weeks at a time, and the associated business travel is indeed business travel.'' [covered by 29 C.F.R. 785.39]” is a regulation that addresses travel to locations far from an employee's hometown that requires an overnight stay. The district court further concluded that under 29 CFR 785.39, “PLG must treat an employee's overnight work travel as compensable work time if it occurs during normal work hours.'' Ta. However, according to the district court, such travel time is not compensated if it occurs outside of normal working hours. The district court's limited holding reflects the provision's language: “Travel from home is clearly work time if it crosses the employee's work hours.”
PLG appealed the district court's decision on December 8, 2023. On April 29, 2024, the DOL filed an amicus brief asserting that the district court's conclusions were substantially correct. However, the DOL argued that the district court's decision was unduly restrictive and that the compensable travel time at issue should not be limited to travel time during normal work hours. Rather, compensable travel time should include all time an employee spends driving to and from remote job sites that require an overnight stay. Importantly, because PLG did not appeal this portion of the district court's decision, the appellate court can address the DOL's claims regarding travel time that occur outside of the employee's normal working hours, but it does not address it. That is not required.
Important points
Regarding PLG's appeal walters7th Circuit holds that time spent traveling to and from a remote job site that requires an employee to leave their home and stay overnight is compensable under the FLSA if it occurs during normal work hours. We plan to examine whether this is the case. It remains to be seen whether the courts will address the DOL's position that business travel outside of normal business hours is similarly covered. Depending on the outcome, employers whose non-exempt employees perform work that requires lodging in remote locations may be affected.
