Fifth Circuit Addresses Fair Labor Standards Act Travel Time Issue

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed an alleged travel time violation under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Griffin v. S&B Eng’rs & Constructors, Ltd., No. 12-40382 (5th Cir. Jan. 11, 2013), available at http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/12/12-40382.0.wpd.pdf.

The plaintiff claimed that he should have been compensated for travel time spent on mandatory bus rides to a job site. These bus rides took approximately forty to sixty minutes. After the district court granted summary judgment for the employer, the plaintiff appealed.

The Court determined that the travel time at issue was not compensable under the FLSA because it constituted only ordinary home-to-work-and-back travel. The plaintiff did not perform any work before he got to the job site, receive any work-related instructions before he boarded the bus, or retrieve his tools until he arrived at the job site. The employer did not restrict the plaintiff from engaging in personal activities, such as sleeping or reading, while on the bus. And, while the employer’s general rules and policies applied, these rules were logistical, administrative, and not integral to the plaintiff’s activities as a journeyman electrician. The Court affirmed the summary judgment.

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