Labor & Employment Law Update

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued much-needed guidance on compensable travel time, one of the more complex areas of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Laid out in two opinion letters, the guidance is particularly relevant for employers with hybrid workforces and field-based employees.

Employers should review their pay practices to ensure they are properly distinguishing between ordinary commuting and compensable work activities.

Is Commute Time Compensable Under the FLSA for Hybrid Employees? (WHD Opinion Letter FLSA2026-9)

As hybrid and remote work arrangements have become more common, employers have questioned whether an employee who works from home for part of the day and then commutes to the office must be paid for that mid-day travel because it occurs during the employee’s workday.

The first DOL opinion addresses three hybrid work scenarios, all of which the DOL concluded qualify as “normal” or “ordinary” commuter travel and thus are not compensable:

• Avoiding rush-hour traffic. An employee chooses to work from home early in the morning, commute to the office before and after traffic subsides (i.e., avoid rush hour), and finish the day at home. The mid-day commute is not compensable because it is voluntary and benefits the employee by allowing them to save travel time.
• Working extra hours from home. An employee volunteers to complete additional work at home before going into the office instead of commuting earlier to complete the work. The commute remains non-compensable because nothing about the employee’s normal morning commute has changed.
• Leaving work to use public transportation. An employee leaves the office to catch the last bus home and completes remaining work after arriving home. As long as the employee is not working while on the bus, their evening commute does not qualify as FLSA-covered work.

When Do Pre-Shift Activities Become Compensable Work Under the FLSA? (WHD Opinion Letter 2026-10)

The DOL’s second opinion letter provides important guidance for employers with field-based employees who perform work before arriving at their job site.

The opinion examines when pre-shift activities performed at home or during a commute become compensable under the FLSA, particularly for employees who receive work assignments remotely and travel directly from home to customer locations:

• Receiving work assignments generally is not compensable. Simply receiving work assignments or pages before the workday begins or during the commute is generally not compensable because these activities are considered incidental to the use of an employer-provided vehicle for commuting and do not constitute principal work activities.
• Scheduling and coordinating with clients generally is Calling customers to schedule appointments or confirm services, coordinating with other technicians, or engaging in other substantive customer coordination generally is compensable because these activities are required by the employer, performed primarily for the employer’s benefit, and are integral and indispensable to the employee’s principal job duties.

The second opinion letter also addresses when travel to the first job site becomes compensable, but doesn’t provide much guidance. If employees spend a substantial amount of time performing principal work immediately before departing for the first job site, subsequent travel may no longer qualify as an ordinary commute and may become compensable.

More significantly, the DOL indicated performing work activities during the employee’s commute such as calling customers to schedule or confirm appointments can start the workday, meaning that any travel after that point would be compensable.

Traditional FLSA Travel Time Rules Still Apply

Of course, the opinion letters do not change longstanding FLSA rules regarding compensable travel. Employers must still pay for:

• Travel between job sites during the workday.
• Travel during which the employee performs work.
• Certain special assignments, emergency travel, or other travel that primarily benefits the employer rather than the employee and is not “ordinary.”

The DOL also stressed that determining the compensability of travel time is highly fact-specific and depends on the totality of the circumstances, meaning that there is no simple answer when these questions arise.

Employer Takeaways From the DOL's Travel Time Guidance

The DOL's guidance reflects the reality of today's workplace, where employees increasingly divide their time between home, the office, and customer locations.

For employers of hybrid environments, the opinion letters provide reassurance that voluntary scheduling flexibility does not automatically transform ordinary commuting into compensable work time.

Employers with field-based and mobile employees, however, should review their pay practices to ensure they accurately distinguish between:

1. Receiving work assignments and performing substantive work;
2. Non-compensable commuting versus travel occurring after the workday has begun; and
3. Incidental administrative activities and tasks that are integral and indispensable to employees’ principal job duties.