Spygrrl,
"We have been working on a policy of OT calculated on a weekly basis (vs. daily basis). That is, we pay OT after 40 hrs per week - not after 8 hrs per day. Our payroll period runs Sat - Fri. This allows us to give our guys some flexibility re: making up missed hours, especially since all but one have kids."
This sounds backwards to me. We established a pay period starting on Monday and ending on Sunday, for this very same reason. That way, if a guy missed some hours during the regular work-week, he could make it up over that weekend and still make his 40 hours. If he had already worked 40 hours by Friday, then any work done over the weekend was at OT. On monday morning, the weekly hour-counter resets to zero and starts over again.
"Question # 1: Now, since he was pulled in on a Saturday, is he automatically entitled to OT pay even though he is not over 40 hrs per week?"
Acording to your policy, on Saturday he started on a new work week -- it was the first day of that new week. So no, he wouldn't get OT automatically. That will have to be a judgement call on your part. However, if you do it for one, you should do it for all. Playing favorites will get you into trouble. You may want to find another way to reward him.
"Also, our mileage policy is you eat whatever it takes to your first job of the day (within reason). After that, if we send you somewhere else, mileage is logged and reimbursed. Mileage to your home, from wherever, is also your responsibility."
Several years ago, here in Texas, we received a DOL decision that said if an hourly employee drove a company truck home, then his time started when he got into the truck that morning (at his house) and ended when he got out of the truck in the evening (also at his house). That caused us to either keep our trucks in our yard and have the guys come in and start their time in our yard, or in many cases on construction jobs, we paid the foreman a monthly truck-allowance and let him use his own truck. Then his time started when he arrived on the jobsite.
Maybe that law has been changed, or maybe that DOL decision only applied in Texas, but you need to find out. We had to pay a lot of back-pay and OT based on a years worth of driving time from and back-to the men's homes to the jobsite, for those men that drove a company truck. It also applied to the men that met at his house and rode with him. The back-pay was company wide, not to just one individual. It started with one individual that kept a written log of his driving time and then filed a complaint with the DOL after working for us for over a year. The DOL audited our records conpany-wide. It cost us thousands in back pay to a couple of dozen different employees.
I couldn't tell for sure, but it sounds like you are a service company that pays your employees mileage for the use of their own trucks. If you pay them mileage driving to their first work-site of the day, and back home from their last work-site of the day, then you may also be obligated to pay for that driving time as well? I expect the DOL would want to know why you pay for one part and not the other? I assume that you do pay them both time and mileage while traveling from one work site to the next during the day? How is that different?
"Ques # 2: Since this wasn't a regularly scheduled workday, I would think we should pay him mileage. Do we pay for only one way or both ways?"
Once again, don't play favorites. You are setting a precidence. Concerning basic payroll & expense issues, treat all employees the same. Don't pay mileage each way for one guy one time, and then do it differently for him or another guy the next time. Just be consistant.
You may want to have something in your handbook that addresses how special situations will be handled. But do it the same for everyone.
But again, I think it could get you into trouble to pay for driving mileage and not pay for the driving time as well.
"I do not want to cheat this employee and I tend to prefer that we pay him OT and mileage both ways. However, even though I think my boss would agree with me, I need to know legally what we are required to do - in case my boss disagrees I'd like to be able to quote chapter and verse. Also, I'd like to put the correct info into the employee handbook that I'm woefully behind in creating. (I like my guys to be properly informed as to their rights, first of all; plus, if we do better than the minimum required by law, I'd like them to know that)"
I don't know how agressive the DOL is now days -- I haven't had any recent run-ins with them. Also, I've gotten behind on what the current labor laws are (I'm not directly supervising men right now) But I've seen a lot of companies in the past get in trouble over payroll issues and not knowing what the laws require. There are both Federal and State laws that will apply to you. You are far better off to know what they are ahead of time and to operate within those laws, or eventually your company will get an expensive education.
Most states put on regular labor-law workshops to educate employers. Find out if there are any that you can go to.
