The Federal Circuit U.S. appeals court has upheld a lower court’s ruling that time spent commuting to and from work in government vehicles does not count as official duty time for overtime purposes.
The case involved several thousand law enforcement officers seeking compensation for the time they spend commuting in police vehicles. They may not run personal errands, must travel with their firearms and monitor communications and other equipment and must respond to emergencies if called upon, according to appeals court decision 06-5040.
It said the case originated as part of a larger employment dispute between the government and law enforcement officers with the Secret Service, Customs and Border Protection, the IRS, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Most of the issues have settled, and the government agreed to pay the plaintiffs and to consider them non-exempt employees under FLSA, but the settlement left open the question of whether commute times are compensable under FLSA.
According to the appeals court decision, the federal claims court was correct in granting the government summary judgment on the matter, holding that the driving time was not compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended by the Portal-to-Portal Act.
