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June 27, 2024
Tennessee amended its wage regulations law to better define “work.” See 2023 Tenn. HB 2110. Effective July 1, 2024, “work” in Tennessee will have the same meaning as interpreted by the United State Supreme Court for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)[1] and the Portal-to-Portal Act.[2]
Specifically, “work” will not include the time that an employee spends (1) walking, riding, or traveling to and from the actual place of performance of the principal activity or activities that the employee is employed to perform; (2) activities that are preliminary to (preceding) or postliminary to (after the conclusion of) the principal activity; or (3) activities that require insubstantial or insignificant periods of time beyond the employee’s scheduled working hours.
For example, must an employer compensate employees for time spent changing clothes? Time spent changing clothes at the start of the workday is considered an integral part of the employee’s principal activity if the activity closely relates to the employee’s duties and is indispensable to those duties. On the other hand, if changing clothes is simply for the convenience of the employee but does not relate to the employee’s principal activities, it amounts to a preliminary or postliminary activity and is not compensable.
Is commuting time compensable? Ordinary commuting time (e.g., an employee’s travel from home to the office) is not compensable. However, traveling that is part of the employee’s principal activity for the employer is compensable work time.
Employers: You can now look to federal law under the FLSA or the Portal-to-Portal Act to determine the types of activities for which your employees must be compensated. Make sure that your pay practices are in compliance with the federal definition of “work” and seek legal counsel if you have questions.
The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
[1] The FLSA establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments.
[2] The Portal-to-Portal Act clarifies which types of activities qualify for compensation.
