Mandatory Park-and-Ride Program Was Not Compensable Under the FLSA, 5th Circuit Rules

Author: Michael Cardman, XpertHR Legal Editor

Requiring nonexempt employees to go to and from a work site by certain means - such as taking a bus from a remote parking lot to a manufacturing plant - does not necessarily mean they must be paid for the time spent in transit, a federal appeals court ruled January 11.

If employees perform duties that are integral and indispensable to their job, such as picking up tools or receiving instructions, before or after they board the bus, any time spent traveling would become part of their normal workday. As a result, it would be compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

But as long as the employees perform no such duties, they need not be paid for normal commuting time. Simply requiring employees to follow a certain mandatory transportation scheme in and of itself does not mean otherwise-noncompensable commuting time suddenly becomes compensable, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals held in Griffin v. S&B Eng'Rs & Constructors, +2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 785 (5th Cir. 2013).

The 10th and 11th Circuits, which collectively cover Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming, have issued similar rulings. See Smith v. Aztec Well Servicing Co., +462 F.3d 1274, 1288 (10th Cir. 2006); Bonilla v. Baker Concrete Constr. Inc., +487 F.3d 1340, 1343 (11th Cir. 2007).

The Griffin ruling was not published, meaning it cannot be cited as precedent in the 5th Circuit, which covers Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. +USCS Ct App 5th Cir, Loc R 47. Nevertheless, it offers insight into the 5th Circuit's interpretation of the FLSA's travel time requirements and may be cited in certain other circuits based on its power to persuade.