U.S. Department of Labor
FLSA Hours Worked Advisor
Home-to-Work, Special One-Day Assignment
Different rules apply when you regularly work at a fixed location in one city and are given a special one-day assignment in another city.
For example, you work in Washington, D.C. with regular working hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and you are given a special assignment in New York City. You are instructed to leave Washington, D. C. at 8 a.m. You arrive in New York City at 12 noon, ready for work. The special assignment is completed at 3 p.m., and you arrive back in Washington, D.C. at 7 p.m.
Such travel cannot be regarded as ordinary home-to-work travel. It was performed for the employer's benefit and at his or her special request to meet the special needs of the company and the assignment. This type of travel would qualify as a necessary part of the principal activity which you were hired to perform on this particular workday.
However, all the time involved need not be considered as hours worked. The travel between your home and the airport or other public transportation terminal is normal home-to-work travel and return and is not hours worked. The balance of the time between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. is hours worked, with the exception of meal periods.
If you are driving to complete your special assignment click on the underlined text to determine whether the travel time is hours worked.
For more information, please contact your local Wage and Hour District Office.
