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Volume 5 - Number 23 | June 4, 2007
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EDITOR'S NOTES
For most jobs, employees are not compensated for their travel time to and from work. They must plan for delays caused by rush hour, accidents, weather conditions, detours, road construction, etc. Despite some arguable extenuating circumstances, employees working on a secure construction site at an airport fared no different, as we see in this week’s first case. They were required to pass through airport security screening and take contractor-provided shuttles to the worksite before clocking in. They sought compensation for the time spent engaged in these pre- and post-shift activities. In its decision, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals said, “[T]he fact that certain preshift activities are necessary for employees to engage in their principal activities does not mean that those preshift activities are ‘integral and indispensable’ to a ‘principal activity’.... If mere causal necessity was sufficient to constitute a compensable activity, all commuting would be compensable because it is a practical necessity for all works to travel from their homes to their jobs.” With increased security at airports and other potential terrorist targets, we can expect to see this question again.
Also this week, we cover how far a public works payment bond extends and what happens when a contract does not list a specific completion date.
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TRAVEL AND SECURITY TIME NOT SUBJECT TO FAIR LABOR LAW
Employees cannot seek compensation for time spent traveling to and from a secure job site, rules a federal appeals court. Employees must travel to the site on their own time despite using transportation provided by the prime contractor.
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