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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 914
E
Member
The "pay for road trips" thread got me thinking about this.

When I worked for other contractors they used to pay us from the time we started loading the truck in the morning until the time we loaded it back up at the job site, but not for the drive home. I was always fine with this practice.

Now, for the past few years I've paid my workers the same way, except for long drives, which I do pay. Recently I've been getting some complaints and stretching of hours over this, mainly from some new guys. I do see their point and probably will start paying for all drive time, but I want to see what other here have experienced.

Do you get paid for all driving? Or if you're the boss, do you pay for all driving?

By the way, I don't let them take home trucks, so they do have to drive back to the shop.

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,391
I
Moderator
In MA if I have them meet me at the shop I the company is obligated to pay for all travel.

So we meet at the job, this means 8 hrs at the job, they get milage after a certain distance.

If a guy wants to save his gas and ride with me in the company truck thats great, but one complant about not being on the clock (I'am not) and they are back in their car.


[This message has been edited by iwire (edited 03-17-2003).]


Bob Badger
Construction & Maintenance Electrician
Massachusetts
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 558
G
Member
Eagle,I worked for several years for a contractor in Gainesville. He paid for 1 way driving time and it always seemed fair to me.On Fridays,if your truck was dirty and disorganized,you had to clean it before he would pay you.We soon learned to spend a few minutes every day to keep things straight! We pay our 2 helpers 1 way.Of course we seldom drive more than 20 or 30 min to a job.

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,429
L
LK Offline
Member
Again Electrical contractors great at what they know best electrical work but when it comes to business, bad moves. If your employee is driving back from a job and is off the payroll and gets in an accident you have big problems. say good bye to your business. The 8 hour day includes travel time

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 507
G
Member
We have always paid travel both ways. Shop to shop. However, this is the exception in this area, rather than the rule.

It's just one of the small things we do to keep the help happy. We have a very small turnover rate.

GJ

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,391
I
Moderator
Think of any large construction project all the workers find there own way to work and back and 8 hours is "on the job" no travel time, real problems come if you send them to the supply house in their own car while on company time.

When they ride with me off the clock but in a company truck, yes we are still responsible for them, but no chance of losing the company.

The company I work for is large, 200-300 guys out of our shop, our jobs are 30-90 minutes from the shop we could never waste travel time each day for each employee, we would be out of business.

When I worked for smaller companies we did the one way travel thing too, and I understand each area is going to do things differently. [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by iwire (edited 03-18-2003).]


Bob Badger
Construction & Maintenance Electrician
Massachusetts
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 30
R
Member
For us, it was on the job for 8 hr.
Only the one that drove the truck got the O.T.

I, for one, would love to hear the ambulance chasers story....
" I was on my way to work and got in an accedent"

how does that make the CO. liable????

I have a freind that rights off all the milage... I dont know it its leagal... but his reply to that would be..." If i cant take mass transit, then I am required to have a car... If I am required to have a car... its deductable.... same as a uniform.. Any thing required and not payed for is deductable!!!!!"

more opinons please!



[This message has been edited by RandyO (edited 03-18-2003).]

Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 375
G
Member
RandyO ---

Milage from home to your first stop and from your last stop to home is NOT deductable. Other milage on your job is.

If your business is in your home, all of your milage on business is deductable.

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 599
N
Member
We do not pay drive time at all to and from the job. Obviously if they report to one job and you send them to another you then pay the drive time for that. This is very rarely done and usually only in the case of an emergency. With an average of 1200 electricians working for us at any given time paying drive time would surly be the death of the company. I do get paid some drive time occasionally. If I need to go into the shop to get something I get paid for the drive back to the job. Or when I am doing a couple of small jobs rather than one big one I have to bounce around some and that windshield time is paid too. The general rule, like iwire, is all employees report directly to the job on there own time.

George,
I wrote off mileage to and from work for a number of years. My tax lady said I could and it has to do with being classified as a temporary employee. Even though I have been with the same shop for ten years I am still referred from a union hall and classified as temporary as far as the IRS is concerned. I am no tax expert but that’s how we did it. I lost that right off about 5 years ago when I got a company truck to drive home. It hurts at tax time but overall I am better off. Last weekend the fuel pump went out. Got a ride to work and called the company mechanic. When I got home, it was fixed. Can’t beet that! [Linked Image] [Linked Image]

Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 2,236
Likes: 1
Member
Jimmy and I do anywhere between 1 and 3 hours of windshield time per day. I actually feel guilty for not paying him for this time, but I'd have to knock him down to $6.25 an hour to afford it. That's a $3.75 cut, by the way... (numbers really calculated, not BSed)

As it is, I pay him bonuses when I can (when we come in under time) and there are other benefits, such as my willingness to teach and patience (sometimes) to understand. The way he's learning, I'd be more than happy to make him VP when the biz gets big enough to need one. </digress>

Wish I could afford to pay him good wages for all of his time.

[Linked Image]



[This message has been edited by sparky66wv (edited 03-18-2003).]


-Virgil
Residential/Commercial Inspector
5 Star Inspections
Member IAEI
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