Does Travel Time Count Toward Overtime? 2026 FLSA Rules & Worked Examples

The Short Answer

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and 29 CFR §§ 785.33–.41, travel time counts toward the 40-hour overtime threshold in three of four common scenarios:

• Home-to-work commute — not paid, not counted (Portal-to-Portal Act, 29 U.S.C. § 254(a)).
• Travel between worksites during the workday — paid and counted.
• Special one-day assignment in another city — paid and counted (minus normal commute).
• Overnight travel away from home community — paid during normal working hours, including weekends, when you're a passenger.

If any of the compensable categories pushed your weekly total over 40 hours, you're owed 1.5× overtime on those hours — even if your employer never put them on the schedule. This is a cluster article to our pillar guide, Hours Worked Under the FLSA (2026).

The Four Travel-Time Scenarios

Scenario 1 — Home-to-Work Commute (29 CFR § 785.35)

Not compensable. Ordinary daily travel between home and your regular worksite is unpaid, regardless of distance. The Employee Commuting Flexibility Act of 1996 (29 U.S.C. § 254(a)) confirms that commuting in a company vehicle is also unpaid, so long as:

• The vehicle use is within the normal commuting area; and
• Use of the vehicle is subject to an agreement between employer and employee.

Example. A plumbing tech drives a company van 35 minutes from home to the shop, picks up materials, and starts jobs. The 35-minute drive is unpaid. But: if the employer requires her to load the van at home, or dispatch begins while she's driving, that time flips to compensable.

Scenario 2 — Travel All in a Day's Work (29 CFR § 785.38)

Fully compensable and counts toward overtime. Any travel during the workday between job sites, between the office and a customer, or between two branches is hours worked.

Worked example (2026).

• Field sales rep, base pay $22/hr, workweek Mon–Fri.
• Mon–Fri office/customer hours: 38
• Mid-day travel between customer sites: 6 hours
• Total hours worked: 44 → 4 hours of overtime.

Regular rate stays $22/hr. Overtime owed: 4 × ($22 × 1.5) = $132. If those 6 travel hours were left off the timecard, that's $132/week × 52 = $6,864/year in unpaid overtime.

Scenario 3 — Special One-Day Assignment (29 CFR § 785.37)

Sent to a same-day out-of-town assignment? All travel time is compensable, minus your usual home-to-work commute.

Example. Normal commute 20 min each way. Boss sends you to a client 2 hours away for a one-day install.

• Drive out: 2 hrs → 2 hrs − 20 min = 1 hr 40 min paid
• Drive back: 2 hrs → 2 hrs − 20 min = 1 hr 40 min paid
• Plus the on-site work hours.

Total travel paid: 3 hrs 20 min. All of it counts toward the weekly 40-hour overtime threshold.

Scenario 4 — Overnight Travel Away from Home Community (29 CFR § 785.39)

The trickiest rule. Travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight is compensable when it cuts across normal working hours — even on non-working days.

Two-part rule:

• . Travel during your normal working hours (e.g., 8am–5pm) on any day — including Saturday and Sunday — is paid.
• . Travel outside normal working hours as a passenger on a plane, train, bus, or car is not paid (unless you actually perform work en route — replying to email, driving as required, etc.).

Worked example (2026). An IT consultant based in Chicago, normal hours M–F 9am–5pm, is sent to Denver for a 3-day install. A Sunday 11am–2pm flight (passenger) is paid — it cuts across normal 9-5 hours on Sunday. Sun 8pm–10pm hotel prep work is paid. Mon–Wed onsite work (24 hrs) is paid. A Wed 6pm–9pm return flight as a passenger with no work is unpaid — outside 9-5, no work performed. Two hours of email cleanup on that flight would flip those 2 hours back to paid.

Total compensable travel/work: 34 hours. If she also worked 8 hrs Thu–Fri that week, weekly total = 42 hours, triggering 2 hrs of overtime at 1.5× her regular rate.

When Driving Yourself Instead of Riding

If the employer requires you to drive (rather than fly or take public transit) during off-hours, the drive time is fully compensable as work — not passenger time (29 CFR § 785.41). If you *chose* to drive when public transit was available and would have fallen outside working hours, the employer can count only the hours that would have been on the plane/train.

State Rules That Go Further

Some states expand the FLSA's travel-time rules:

• California — All employer-controlled travel is paid at minimum the state minimum wage; if the employer requires driving as an integral part of the job, the entire drive is paid (*Morillion v. Royal Packing Co.*, 22 Cal.4th 575 (2000)). See our California overtime guide.
• Washington — WAC 296-126-002(8) treats all travel time on the employer's business, including out-of-town travel outside normal hours, as hours worked (broader than the FLSA).
• Oregon — ORS 653.010(11) and OAR 839-020-0045 follow Washington's expanded rule for most private employers.
• New York — 12 NYCRR § 142-2.1 treats travel time as hours worked whenever the employee is required to be at a location for the employer's benefit.

If you work in one of these states, the state rule wins whenever it's more generous.

How Travel Time Interacts with the Regular Rate

Travel time counts as hours worked, so it:

• . Adds to the weekly total used to determine overtime eligibility.
• . Must be paid at at least minimum wage (federal $7.25 or state, whichever is higher).
• . If your employer pays a different rate for travel time (e.g., $15/hr for travel vs $22/hr for on-site work), a weighted average regular rate must be used to calculate overtime — see Weighted Average Overtime for Multiple Pay Rates (2026).

What Employers Get Wrong (2026 Enforcement Trends)

The DOL's Wage & Hour Division recovered $212 million in back wages in FY 2025, with travel-time violations concentrated in:

• Home health / home care — travel between clients almost always compensable, rarely paid.
• Construction and skilled trades — pre-shift yard time, loading, and same-day out-of-town jobs.
• IT / field service — overnight installs and weekend on-call travel.
• Delivery drivers — pre-route inspections and post-route paperwork.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is drive time to my first job of the day paid?

No — that's ordinary commuting under 29 CFR § 785.35. Unless you're required to load the vehicle at home or perform dispatch work before leaving, it's unpaid.

Does travel time count toward overtime if I'm not driving?

Yes — for § 785.38 (in-day travel) and § 785.37 (one-day out-of-town), all compensable travel counts toward the 40-hour weekly threshold, whether you're driving or riding.

Do I get overtime on travel days for an overnight trip?

Only for the hours that (a) fall within your normal working hours on any day of the week, or (b) involve actual work performed en route. Passenger time outside normal hours is unpaid.

Can my employer pay me a lower rate for travel time?

Yes — the FLSA allows a separate lower rate for travel, provided it's at least minimum wage and the employee is notified in advance. But your overtime must be calculated on the weighted average of all your rates for that week.

Which states pay for all travel time?

California, Washington, Oregon, and — for most employer-required travel — New York. In these states, expanded state rules override the narrower FLSA test.

Try the Calculator

Add your travel hours to your weekly total in the free Overtime Pay Calculator to see your 2026 back pay estimate.

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*Sources: 29 U.S.C. § 254 (Portal-to-Portal Act); 29 CFR §§ 785.33–.41; DOL Fact Sheet #22; Morillion v. Royal Packing Co., 22 Cal.4th 575 (2000); WAC 296-126-002. Last reviewed July 13, 2026.*