In a recent ruling, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that employers are required to compensate their employees for time spent traveling between their homes and the location of their travel assignments when the employees will remain at the remote location overnight and when the travel occurs during the employees’ “workday.” In addition to being compensable, the court held that the hours spent traveling count toward weekly overtime.

The decision clarified that the “normal rule” found in 29 CFR §785.35 that employers rely on to avoid paying their employees for the time spent commuting to and from work does not apply when employees travel to a remote location where they will remain overnight for a number of days or weeks. Instead, employers placing employees on travel assignments are required to compensate them for the time spent traveling between their homes and their remote work locations—assuming that travel occurs during the employees’ “workday.” The practical implications of the decision are not entirely clear, because the court declined to explain what constitutes an employee’s “workday,” including in the context of employees whose “workday” differs from assignment to assignment or even within the same assignment.

To read the decision, see Walters v. Professional Labor Group LLC, 120 F. Fourth 546 (Seventh Cir. 2024).