I work for a large fire alarm company as a service technician in Miami, Florida, I live on the other side of the state in Naples, Florida. Our territory is pretty much the whole south of Florida. Most of our accounts are on East Coast, which is about a 3 hour commute one way. When scheduled to go to one of these accounts I would normally drive for 3 hours, work for about 6 to 8 hours and then drive back home....a 12 to 14 hour day. The company asks that for the commute we give them the first hour of travel time, to and from. so a 12 to 14 hour day turns into a 9 to 11 hour day with another hour for lunch. I dont have a problem giving them the the 2 hours, since they provide the vehicle, fuel, insurance, etc., etc., i think its a fair deal. But, a few weeks ago my supervisor called and and informed me that any travel time that would put me over 40 hours will be considered regular time. This i have a problem with. In order for me to get any overtime i would have to work 15+ hours in a day for the regular work week. Our Employee Handbook states that Travel and Job time is worked time.

My questions:

1, can they legally deny me overtime pay since it is travel time?
2, can they legally ask me to give them one hour of travel time?
3, Am I being taken advantage of for them to try and save a buck?

Thanks.

Looks to me like you are getting a really good deal.

The company could simply pay you for your work time, which does not include the time you spend driving to and from work.