By Dan Davis, July 29, 2026
If you drive to job sites for work, start your day with calls from home, or split your time between home and an office, you may wonder whether the hours you spend traveling are supposed to be on the clock. On July 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor weighed in with two new opinion letters that spell out, in unusual detail, when a commute or travel time counts as paid work under federal law. Here is what Louisiana workers should know.
The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division issued two companion opinion letters, FLSA2026-9 and FLSA2026-10. An opinion letter is the agency’s official answer to a specific, real-world question about how the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) — the federal wage-and-hour law — applies. These letters do not create brand-new law, but they show how the government reads the rules today, and courts often look to them for guidance.
Both letters turn on one core idea: the “primary beneficiary” test. Put simply, if your time is spent mainly for your employer’s benefit, it is usually work that must be paid. If it is spent mainly for your own benefit, it usually is not.
Generally, no. The drive between your home and your regular workplace is treated as an “ordinary commute,” and federal law has long said that ordinary commuting is not paid time. The first letter added an important clarification: an ordinary commute does not suddenly become paid just because it happens in the middle of the day. So if your employer lets you work from home in the morning and drive in around midday, that drive can still be an unpaid commute — as long as the timing is genuinely voluntary and you are free of work duties while you drive. The work you do at home still has to be paid; the travel around it may not be.
This is where many workers are underpaid. The second letter looked at a field service technician who, before driving to his first job, spent about an hour at home receiving assignments, calling clients to set appointments, and coordinating with other workers. The DOL drew a careful line. Simply receiving your assignments, routes, or pages is treated as part of the commute and is not paid. But actually calling clients, scheduling, and coordinating other workers is “integral and indispensable” work — and that must be paid.
Here is the part that matters most. Once that real work starts your day, a drive that your employer tightly controls can lose its “ordinary” character and become paid time. If your employer dictates when you leave, requires substantial work before or during the drive, and expects you to start working the moment you arrive, that travel may be compensable — because it is primarily for the employer’s benefit, not yours.
Using an employer’s vehicle, by itself, does not decide the question — the DOL made clear that whose vehicle you drive is not the deciding factor. Longstanding federal rules also treat certain travel as paid work, such as being sent to a job site in another city on a special assignment, or being called back out for an emergency after hours. The theme running through all of it is control: the more your employer dictates your time, the more likely that travel belongs on the clock.
The FLSA is a floor, not a ceiling. It sets the minimum protections everywhere, including here in Louisiana, and covers most hourly employees. On top of that, your written contract, employee handbook, or union agreement may promise pay the FLSA does not require. If you regularly travel between job sites, drive a company vehicle with required pre-shift calls, or handle work before you ever reach your first stop, it is worth having someone look closely at whether those hours are being counted — and paid at the right overtime rate when you go over 40 in a week.
If you think you are not being paid for time you should be — including travel, drive time, or pre-shift work — the attorneys at Estes Davis Law can review your situation. Call us at (225) 336-3394 for a free, confidential consultation. Se habla español.
This article is general information about Louisiana law and is not legal advice. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome; every case depends on its own facts. For advice about your situation, please consult an attorney.
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