Opinion letter · United States · Wage and Hour Division

Wage and Hour Division says a voluntary mid-day commute between home and office is not paid work time

As of our last check on November 2, 2026, this is agency guidance, not a rule. It explains how the agency reads the law and does not create a legal requirement on its own.

Added to AmendSignal November 4, 2026

In short

What changed: In an opinion letter, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor says an ordinary home-to-office commute in the middle of the workday is not hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when it is voluntary and mainly benefits the employee. WHD calls this a third type of unpaid time during the workday, alongside bona fide meal breaks and off-duty time.
Who's affected: Employers covered by the FLSA that let non-exempt employees split a workday between home and the office. The letter answers one requester's specific facts, so how far it reaches depends on how closely your situation matches them.
What to do: This guidance creates no new duties for employers. The FLSA still requires paying for and recording all hours actually worked, including work done at home, but if you allow split days you may treat a voluntary, ordinary mid-day commute as unpaid time.

What changed

From the sourceIntroduction

As explained below, it is our opinion that such mid-day travel would qualify as “normal” or “ordinary” commuter travel, which is not hours worked under the FLSA.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) says that mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office, offered as a voluntary alternative to an unpaid commute before or after the workday, is ordinary commuter travel and is not hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
From the sourceOpinion

we clarify that ordinary home-to-work travel that occurs during the workday constitutes a third category of time during the workday, in addition to bona fide meal breaks and off-duty time, that is not considered “hours worked” under the FLSA.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

WHD says it is clarifying that an ordinary commute during the workday is a third category of unpaid time within the workday, in addition to bona fide meal breaks and off-duty time.
From the sourceConclusion

Because all three of the scenarios described in your letter fit that description, your client would not have to treat such commuter travel as compensable worktime.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

WHD concludes that the commute in all three of the requester's scenarios (a mid-day commute to avoid rush hour, a regular commute after voluntary early work at home, and a bus ride home before finishing work at home) need not be treated as paid work time.
From the sourceOpinion, A. Scenario 1

it is not necessary for a mid-day commute to reduce an employee’s commute time to be considered ordinary or normal. Instead, it suffices that the timing of such commuter travel is genuinely voluntary
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

WHD says a mid-day commute does not have to shorten the employee's travel time to count as ordinary. It is enough that the timing is genuinely voluntary.
From the sourceOpinion, B. Scenario 2

The employee’s 8:00 am commute would still be “normal” if the earlier work was mandatory but the employee chose to perform it at home rather than at the office.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

WHD says its answer for the early-morning work scenario would be the same even if the extra work were mandatory, as long as the employee chose to do it at home rather than at the office.
From the sourceFootnote 25

However, to clarify, there is no minimum time requirement for an ordinary commute to be excludable from worktime.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

WHD says there is no minimum length for an ordinary commute to be excluded from work time.
From the sourceOpinion, D. Additional Clarifications

nothing in this letter should be construed as a departure from the Department’s longstanding positions that (1) travel from worksite to worksite during the workday is compensable, and (2) if an employee is engaged in compensable work during a commute, time engaged in such tasks is compensable.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Also: Opinion, D. Additional Clarifications

Second, the analysis and opinion in this letter is strictly limited to ordinary commuter travel between home and work.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

WHD says the letter does not depart from its positions that travel between worksites during the workday, and work done during a commute, are paid time, and that its analysis is limited to ordinary commuting between home and work.
From the sourceConclusion

This interpretation may be relied upon in accordance with section 10 of the Portal Act, notwithstanding that after any such act or omission in the course of such reliance, the interpretation is “modified or rescinded or is determined by judicial authority to be invalid or of no legal effect.”
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

The letter says it is an official interpretation that may be relied upon under section 10 of the Portal-to-Portal Act, even if it is later modified, rescinded or found invalid.

Who is affected

From the sourceBackground

You represent an employer with a large workforce of non-exempt employees
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Also: Background

Non-exempt office-based employees, however, have not been permitted to work in more than one location (for example, home and office) in a single workday.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

The request came from a representative of an employer with a large non-exempt workforce in office roles, such as administrative support staff and bookkeeping clerks, who had not been allowed to work in more than one location in a single workday.
Our analysisConclusion

We affirm here that extending such flexibility as a benefit to non-exempt employees does not require employers to pay for employees’ ordinary commutes simply because their commutes occur in the middle of the workday.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Also: Note

This opinion is based exclusively on the facts and circumstances described in your request
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

The letter's reasoning is most relevant to employers covered by the FLSA that offer, or are considering, split home-and-office workdays for non-exempt employees. It is based only on the requester's facts, so different facts could lead to a different answer.

What it means in practice

Our analysisConclusion

We conclude that any time employees spend traveling between their home and their primary worksite within a workday may be excluded from recorded worktime, as long as such travel is otherwise a “normal” or “ordinary” commute that primarily benefits the employee.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Employers that kept non-exempt staff from splitting a day between home and office, out of concern that the mid-day commute would become paid time, may be able to offer that flexibility without paying for an ordinary commute.
Our analysisOpinion, D. Additional Clarifications

there are circumstances under which travel between home and work will not be considered ordinary, including where the travel and the timing thereof are both dictated by the employer
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

The result depends on the commute being voluntary and mainly for the employee. Travel whose timing the employer dictates, and that significantly constrains the employee's time, may be paid work time.
Our analysisFootnote 23

which, depending on an employer’s recordkeeping practices, could necessitate recording the length or timing of an excluded mid-day commute.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Timekeeping still has to capture all work done at home, and depending on how an employer keeps records, it may need to note the length or timing of an unpaid mid-day commute.
Our analysisConclusion

This interpretation may be relied upon in accordance with section 10 of the Portal Act
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Because the letter says it may be relied upon under section 10 of the Portal-to-Portal Act, employers acting in line with it may be able to point to that reliance even if the interpretation later changes.

What to do

AmendSignal analysis sorts these by whether this document changes them.

Already required

From the sourceGeneral Legal Principles, A. Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act

the FLSA generally requires covered employers to pay employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime of at least one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Also: Footnote 26

The time spent at home performing additional work for the employer, of course, constitutes compensable hours worked.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Under the FLSA, as the letter describes, covered employers must pay at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek. WHD says time spent at home doing additional work for the employer is paid hours worked.
From the sourceFootnote 23

Of course, the employer must keep an accurate record of all “hours worked each workday and total hours worked each workweek,” 29 C.F.R. § 516.2(a)(7)
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Also: Footnote 23

employers’ records must include all hours each employee actually works each day and each workweek, whether at the worksite or at home.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Under the FLSA and its recordkeeping rule at 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 516.2(a)(7), as the letter describes, employers must keep an accurate record of hours worked each workday and each workweek, including hours worked at home.
From the sourceOpinion, D. Additional Clarifications

nothing in this letter should be construed as a departure from the Department’s longstanding positions that (1) travel from worksite to worksite during the workday is compensable, and (2) if an employee is engaged in compensable work during a commute, time engaged in such tasks is compensable.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

WHD reads the FLSA and its regulations to require counting travel between worksites during the workday, and any work done during a commute, as paid time.

Worth considering

Our suggestionConclusion

We affirm here that extending such flexibility as a benefit to non-exempt employees does not require employers to pay for employees’ ordinary commutes simply because their commutes occur in the middle of the workday.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Consider reviewing telework policies that bar non-exempt employees from working in more than one location in a day, in light of WHD's view that a voluntary, ordinary mid-day commute need not be paid.
Our suggestionOpinion, A. Scenario 1

Rather, it is sufficient that the home-to-work or work-to-home travel be voluntary and primarily for the employee’s benefit.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

If you offer split days, consider making clear in policy that the timing of a mid-day commute is at the employee's option.
Our suggestionFootnote 23

which, depending on an employer’s recordkeeping practices, could necessitate recording the length or timing of an excluded mid-day commute.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Consider checking that timekeeping systems capture all work done at home and, where your records need it, the timing of an unpaid mid-day commute.
Our suggestionOpinion, D. Additional Clarifications

if an employee is engaged in compensable work during a commute, time engaged in such tasks is compensable.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Consider telling employees not to work during an unpaid commute, and paying for any work they do perform while traveling.
Our suggestionNote

The existence of any other factual or historical background not contained in your letter might require a conclusion different from the one expressed herein.
Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab)

Consider comparing your arrangements with the letter's facts, especially where the employer sets when employees travel, since the letter rests on the requester's facts.

Open questions

The source leaves these open. We'll update this record if a later document answers them.

Does this opinion protect employers whose split-day arrangements differ from the requester's facts?

The letter says it is based only on the facts in the request and that other facts might lead to a different conclusion.
When does a mid-day trip between home and work stop being an ordinary commute and become paid time?

The letter says it does not define the precise contours of such travel and points to Wage and Hour Division opinion letter FLSA2026-10, dated July 22, 2026.
Do employers need to record the length or timing of an unpaid mid-day commute?

The letter says that, depending on an employer's recordkeeping practices, this could be necessary, and that the law requires no particular form of records.

Related changes

History

Latest · July 22, 2026 · Issued

FLSA2026-9: Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. Source (opens in a new tab)

Sources

Whether mid-day travel between an employee's home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee's workday. (opens in a new tab) Wage and Hour Division, primary source