CIM Section 36.2AB

Most disputes that arise under Section 36.2 pertain to compensation for travel time and/or compensation for mileage. The parties at the National level agree that the appropriate handbook provisions – including the regulations contained in Section 438 of the Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) and Handbook F-15, Travel and Relocation -- generally provide sufficient guidance to resolve any disagreement and that such disputes must be resolved based on the fact circumstances of each individual case. Question: Does commuting time to and from an employee’s home and the employee’s official duty station qualify as compensable travel?

Answer: No. Commuting time before or after the regular workday between an employee’s home and official duty station, or any other location within the local commuting area, is a normal incident of employment and is not compensable.

Source: ELM Section 438.121

Question: How is the “local commuting area” defined?

Answer: The local commuting area is the suburban area immediately surrounding the employee’s official duty station and within a radius of 50 miles.

Source: ELM Section 438.11b

Question: If an employee is called back to work after the completion of his or her regular work day, does the employee qualify for reimbursement for the travel involved?

Answer: Commuting time to and from work is also not compensable when an employee is called back to work after the completion of the regular work day, unless the employee is called back to work at a location other than his or her regular work site.

Source: ELM Section 438.122

Question: Are there circumstances under which travel time is compensable when management sends an employee to work in another facility?

Answer: Time spent at any time during a service day by an eligible employee in travel from one job site to another within a local commuting area without a break in duty status is compensable.

Source: ELM Section 438.132a.

Question: Is an employee entitled to compensation for time spent commuting between locations when employed to work on a permanent basis at more than one location in the same service day?

Answer: The time spent commuting between the locations in these circumstances is not compensable travel time, provided there is a break in duty status between the work performed in the different locations. A break in duty status occurs when an employee is completely relieved from duty for a period of at least 1 hour that may be used for the employee’s own purposes. This 1 hour or greater period must be in addition to the actual time spent in travel and the normal meal period, if the normal meal period occurs during the time interval between the work at the different locations.

Source: ELM Section 438.123.

Question: Does compensable travel time count towards an employee’s work hours and overtime hours?

Answer: Compensable travel time is counted as worktime for pay purposes and is included in hours worked in excess of 8 hours in a day, 40 hours in a week, or on a nonscheduled day for a full-time employee, for the determination of overtime for eligible employees.

Source: ELM Section 438.15a.

Question: When can an employee use a privately-owned vehicle for postal business purposes?

Answer: An employee may receive approval when the appropriate official determines that using a privately-owned vehicle will be advantageous to the Postal Service.

Source: F-15 Handbook, Travel and Relocation, Section 5-5.1.1.a.

Question: What is the mileage allowance paid to employees for the use of privately-owned automobiles for travel on official business authorized by the Postal Service?

Answer: The mileage allowance for use of privately-owned automobiles for travel is equal to the standard mileage rate for use of a privately-owned automobile as authorized by the General Services Administration (GSA).