Whether you are a commercial or residential cleaning company, the question of paying
Employees to ride in the car from job to job is one that haunts cleaning business
owners. What is the right thing to do? What am I required to do legally? How can you
afford to pay people to ride in a car?
The solutions to this problem are complex and varied. Many things come into play
and the first and most important is the legal issues. My first recommendation is to
check with your accountant to be certain of your state’s requirements for travel time.
Determine what the legal requirements are for you the business owner. Don’t second
guess here as it could be costly to your business.
After you have determined what the legalities are for your area, you will be able to
address the issue in an informed manner.
In general, the IRS regulations don’t require payment to employees for the time they
spend when going from their homes to their offices and back home again. In the case of
cleaning personnel, if they go to your office to start their day, they do not get paid
mileage or time for that travel, nor do they get paid to get back home at the end of the
day from your office or their last job site. Likewise, if they travel to their 1st job directly
from home, whether it is an office or a home cleaning, they do not get paid for that travel
time or mileage.
Once they arrive at your office, they are on your clock and when traveling from job to job
throughout the day or evening, the responsibility for compensating them according to
the regulations in your state is yours.
Some solutions for compensation are to offer a flat rate between jobs, or a % of their
hourly rate. Some business owners pay a lower hourly rate for travel time. Minimum
wage is required for between job payments, however the exact amount paid is up to the
business owner. It can be the regular hourly rate or less as long as it meets the
minimum wage requirement.
It is best for the business owner to know exactly how long it will take to get from job to
job and set a fair compensation rate. Some owners have installed GPS systems in
company vehicles to determine exactly where employees are throughout their work
shifts. Make certain that all employees are treated fairly and equally and Labor
Department Regulations are followed no matter what decisions you make regarding
travel time pay.
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