DOL Opinion Letter FLSA2026-10 Addresses Phone Calls During Commutes

Field-based roles raise unique FLSA compliance questions, including whether an employer must pay for work tasks performed before or during the commute to the first job site.

A recent DOL opinion letter addressed the issue.

The question came from a field service engineer who doesn’t report to an office. He drives an employer-provided vehicle between home and each day’s first appointment. Between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., he receives service requests by pager, then calls clients and fellow engineers to schedule appointments, either before or during his drive to the first job site.

DOL Opinion Letter FLSA2026-10 Findings

Time spent receiving pages isn’t compensable, since it’s “incidental to the use of an employer’s vehicle for commuting” under the Employee Commuting Flexibility Act, the DOL determined. 

On the other hand, time spent calling clients and other engineers is compensable because it’s ‘integral and indispensable’ to the job, the DOL explained. Those calls constitute real work because they’re a necessary step to performing the services clients requested. Because the calls are the employee’s first principal work activity, the workday begins with the call, so:

• If the employee makes the call before leaving home, the subsequent drive to the first appointment is compensable, and
• If the employee makes the call after starting the drive, the travel time thereafter is compensable.

The takeaway for employers: Pay attention to when field employees start their commutes. A call made before leaving home makes the subsequent drive compensable, while a call made after departure makes the travel time after the call compensable.

More info: Opinion Letter FLSA2026-10