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“TRAVEL TIME IN COMPANY VEHICLES” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E590 on March 14, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRAVEL TIME IN COMPANY VEHICLES
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HON. HARRIS W. FAWELL
of illinois
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, March 14, 1995
Mr. FAWELL. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation which will ensure that the Portal-to-Portal Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act are not misinterpreted by the Department of Labor [DOL] and the courts in such a fashion that employers are required to compensate employees for their use of company vehicles in their commutes.
The use of company vehicles by employees is pervasive in many industries. Police departments, air conditioning contractors, heating oil retailers, plumbers, and carpet cleaners all provide vehicles to their employees. This is generally seen as a benefit to the employee who is able to carry personal tools and equipment in a company vehicle to the first job site, without having to physically check in at the company office. The employee also does not have to buy a vehicle for commuting and saves money on gasoline.
Despite the clear benefits to the employee from this practice, DOL has indicated that employers should pay employees for time spent in company vehicles commuting to the first job site. Last year, after some pressure from several members of this body, DOL agreed to stop enforcing the policy pending a departmental review. This policy would create additional paperwork for the employer and increased employers costs, with the end result of generally discouraging this practice. Many employers may then decide to arrange the central storage of all the vehicles and to require the employee to pick up the vehicle in the morning, transfer his or her tools into the company vehicle and drive to the first job site. At the end of the day, the employee would then have to return to the company, transfer the tools back to his or her vehicle and drive home. This alternative clearly does not benefit the employee.
The longstanding practice utilized by employees and employers works well and benefits both parties. My legislation would make it clear that the use of a company vehicle by an employee for commuting from home to the first job site and from the last job site to home does not require the employer to compensate the employee for commuting time. I look forward to enacting this legislation in the 104th Congress.
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