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The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued two opinion letters providing additional guidance on when commute and travel time constitutes compensable work under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Although the opinion letters do not change existing law, they provide useful guidance for employers with remote, hybrid, and field-based employees by illustrating how the DOL analyzes different types of travel.
Taken together, the opinion letters emphasize that whether travel time is compensable depends on the nature of the travel and when the employee begins performing principal work activities. While employees must be paid for all compensable work they perform, not every trip that follows work activity automatically becomes compensable travel time.
Ordinary Home-to-Work Commutes Are Generally Non-compensable
In the first opinion letter, FLSA 2026-9, the DOL addressed employees who voluntarily perform work from home before commuting to the office, or who commute home before completing additional work remotely later in the day. The DOL concluded that, in these circumstances, the commute generally remains an ordinary home-to-work commute and is not compensable, even though the employee performs work both before and after the drive.
The DOL reasoned that a commute does not lose its status as an ordinary home-to-work commute simply because the employee performs compensable work remotely before leaving home or after returning home. As long as the employee performs no work during the commute, the travel time generally remains non-compensable.
Travel May Become Compensable Once the Workday Begins
The second opinion letter, FLSA 2026-10, addresses a different scenario involving field service employees who travel directly from home to customer locations. The DOL explained that simply receiving work assignments before leaving home generally does not make the subsequent travel compensable. However, if an employee begins performing principal job duties before traveling, such as calling customers to schedule appointments or coordinating work with coworkers, the employee has begun the workday. In that situation, the travel that follows may constitute compensable work time because it occurs after the employee has started performing principal work activities.
This opinion letter confirms that, unlike an ordinary commute to a fixed worksite, travel by a field employee after the workday has begun may constitute compensable work time.
Steps Employers Should Take
Employers should review remote work, hybrid work, and field service arrangements to ensure commute and travel time are classified properly. Particular attention should be given to employees who perform administrative work before traveling, receive assignments while commuting, or regularly split their workday between home and another work location. Employers should also confirm that timekeeping systems accurately capture all compensable work performed, regardless of where it occurs. Finally, employers should remember that some state wage and hour laws may require compensation for travel time even where the FLSA does not.
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