Suppose you are a non-exempt employee (i.e. employee who is entitled to overtime) who was ordered by his employer to attend a training class in another city or another states, which requires you to take long drives or overnight flights to the training destination outside your work hours. Should you be compensated for that time? Many employers include in their policy (employment handbooks, etc...) a clause that provides that their employees will not be paid for any commute outside working hours. This policy usually violates California employment law with regard to the non-exempt employees. Time spent traveling to an event, attending which is required by the employer must be paid for whether the traveling takes place during the normal work hours or outside the normal work hours and regardless of whether the business trip includes overnight stay.
The California high confirmed that the "hours worked" as defined by California labor law don't make a distinction between the "normal" hours worked and those hours worked outside the "normal" time. This actually makes sense. After all, why would an employee not be entitled to wages for work performed or commute related to work during the hours when he expected to or is normally supposed to enjoy his free time. No private policy of an employer can override these state laws.
If you are an hourly employee, your employer can establish a different rate of pay for any travel time before and after performing work, as long as that rate to doesn't fall below the state minimum wage rate. In fact, many companies pay their employees minimum hourly wage for all travel time in addition to reimbursing those traveling employees for all necessary and reasonable expenses associated with the business trip under California Labor Code section 2822, thereby properly complying with the state law.
