Traveling to events - Are you on company time?

We used to be required to use a mileage template from the office to most destinations in the coverage area. Now we are required to submit our actual odometer readings from wherever we started (home or office, I guess) to the destination, and then to wherever we end up (aka the office or back home).

I don't live near the office, so I get a lot of extra mileage that way, but I also need plenty of drive time.

I've never really thought about whether to count time spent getting to assignments.

I have chosen to live outside the coverage area -- probably couldn't afford to live there even if I wanted to! -- and it always seemed like working 40 hours a week was a myth anyway. When it's busy, I work more. Most of the summer, I work less. I doubt it evens out and it's probably illegal... but it seems to work for my department.

 

I fail to see why. Most of us work 40 hours on the dot. Sometimes, we go over. Sometimes, we go under. That's life as a professional journalist. If we could control when the fatal accidents, overtime basketball games and late meetings happen, then we would leave right at 5 p.m. just like the advertising folks do.

 

On the clock. End of story.

 

I carefully log it every day. I do it to within five minutes. Our accounting lady even cam to me one day and said that wasn't necessary, to round it to within 15 minutes. I politely said no, I'd keep doing it my way because it's more honest for me an the company.

It's simple: if I'm working, they are paying me. If there is nothing to do and I'm not working, I'm outta there. If something requires overtime, I happily do it and expect to be pair accordingly. If it's a light week that only requires 38 hours, I don't sit at my desk dicking around on the computer to draw it out to 40, I go home. Once when overtime was being discussed I told the publisher to his face, "never in 17 years have I written down time that I wasn't working, nor will I work time I don't write down."

 

At our shop, the newsside reporters work 40 hours and get paid overtime. The sports reporters, even the beat reporters who travel, generally work 60 and wink wink write down 40 on their time cards. If they don't, they will be replaced. If others on this site come out of the closet, you will find many newspapers are like this. You do it or have no job. Case closed.

 

If you are hourly, comp time is illegal according to the Department of Labor.

 

Every time you bring this up, I'm going to mention how awesome it would be to be fired like that. I'd own the place after a lawsuit.

 

While it's illegal, I don't mind working 45-50 hours a week for September and October and two weeks in November while getting paid for 40 if I'm working 25-35 hours for June (for the last two weeks), July and August.

 

You are screwing over the people who do mind, by making it the industry standard. It's illegal for a good reason.

 

Best post I've ever read

 

But you wouldn't win the suit, cause you have to sign the timecard. That lets the company off the hook.

 

I'm hired, I refuse to sign a false time card, they deal with it or fire me.