This week, the Office of Personnel Management issued new guidance to federal agencies and employees on how to determine eligibility to be compensated for their time when commuting to traditional work sites, based on rules under Title 5 and/or the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA).
In short, when a teleworker or remote worker receives advance notification that they must report to the traditional work site, then the time spent traveling is considered commuting time and is unpaid. However, if a teleworker or remote worker starts their day at an alternative work site but is required to commute to the traditional work site later in the work day, then the time spent traveling in to the office is considered paid time but travel home would be considered unpaid commuting time. An additional consideration for remote workers is whether or not they live in the local commuting area (50-mile radius from traditional work site) as well as if the position is covered or exempt from FSLA. Employees covered by FSLA and that live outside the local commuting area should be compensated for their travel time.
For more information, click on the image below to read the memo from OPM.
