Some of your employees ride to the jobsite in a company truck. Do you pay wages for that time? Generally, the choice is up to the employer. As long as you, the employer, understand and follow a few basic rules, the law does not require you to pay employees for commuting time when they voluntarily ride in a company truck to the jobsite. You must pay them when they arrive on the first jobsite and start work, and until they quit work on the last jobsite of the day. The law does not require you to pay for the time spent riding from home to work and work to home. However, there is a very good chance that you do need to pay the employee who drives the truck full of tools from your headquarters to the jobsite, even if other employees hitch a ride and are not paid for the ride time.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires an employer to pay minimum wage for all work hours, and to pay increased wages for overtime. However, under the Portal-to-Portal Act, there is a clear and specific exemption for commute travel time prior to work and after work, even if the employee uses the employer's vehicle for commuting between home and the jobsite.