Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: Paid drive time

They are entitled to pay from the time they leave the plant til they return under these circumstances. OT is payable for over 8 on shift; this drive time counts against the 8. Whether you pursue a claim or not, all employees are entitled to look back four years for unpaid compensation, so if they want to contact me, I could help them file their claims and pursue them.

Re: Paid drive time

Since your boss is your Dad, you may want to discuss the potential liability that will result if he gets caught. Even if this practice were to cease, there is still a liability going back as far as 4 years. If all employees are required to gather at the central location to go to the work site, they are under the control of the employer and thus are entitled to wages. Since the travel time and work time exceeds 8 hours, the time is payable at overtime rates. Thus dad is incurring a substantial overtime liability every day. Even if he only has a few workers at low pay rates, this can become a huge cost,along with potential penalties, attorney fees and interest. If he employs a larger group of employees he could be the target of a class action claim on behalf of everybody. Both the driver and passenger are entitled to pay. The State of California (Division of Labor Standards Enforcement) and feds (US Dept of Labor) also will address this issue if a claim is filed. He should consider speaking to experienced labor counsel. My firm represents employers and we can help him fashion a policy that will comply with the law.Feel free to contact me.