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FAQ – Human Resources

Q: We are sending a nonexempt employee to mandatory off-site training and meeting. What travel hours do we pay for? (Time Worked/ Travel).

A: The time spent in travel is considered comp time and must be paid.

The time spent in travel is considered comp time and must be paid. There are special considerations for travel time pay when nonexempt employees travel for training and meetings. Home-to-work and work-to-home is not required to be paid, unless the employee works en-route. . If employees are required to report to a central location before going to work area then travel from central location to work areas has to be paid.

However, if off-site training requires nonexempt employees to travel overnight or away from home community, at least some of the time spent traveling is considered time worked and is therefore paid. When an employee drives, all travel time is considered work time. When an employee is a passenger in a car, plane, bus, boat or train, only the travel time that cuts across his or her regular work schedule must be paid. Keep in mind, this time includes travel hours that correspond to the employee’s normal work hours, even if travels falls on a day an employee doesn’t normally work (e.g., weekend) or a holiday when the company is closed. You must count travel that is a regular part of the worker’s daily duties as hours worked because Federal law considers it “all in a days work”

For example, if the employee regularly works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on a Sunday the employee travels as a passenger on an airplane for a Monday meeting, the employer is required to pay for any travel time that occurs between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. even though the employee is traveling on Sunday. There is no obligation under federal law to pay for travel time before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. Therefore, if an employee doesn’t start his or her travel until 6 p.m., there is no compensation required. But if he or she flies from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., all this time is compensable. Some states have travel time laws that may have additional travel time pay requirements.

Workers required to be on duty for less than 24 hrs are considered working even if they’re permitted to sleep. Workers required to be on duty > 24 hrs may agree with their employer to exclude from hours worked any scheduled sleeping periods of 8 hrs or less.
In addition, according to the FLSA, when the employee is performing work while traveling, such as completing pre-work for a training class or preparing for a meeting while a passenger on the plane, this time is considered work time even if it is outside the employee’s normal work schedule.

Contributed by

Human Resources Manager

Q: What are the employment laws I have to follow if I am less than 50 employee group.

A: The TWC put together a nice chart outlining employment laws.

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/news/efte/thresholds_for_coverage.html

Contributed by

Human Resources Manager

Advanced OSM

Is TB testing is OSHA requirement for a medical practice

TB testing is not an OSHA requirement, however, they stated that it is still a highly recommended practice to include in your organization.

Information provided by :

healthcare-compliance-pros

What is OSHA’s current interpretation of CPL 02-00-106 now that CDC updated their guidelines in 2005 which no longer requires annual testing for HCWs whose duties do not include contact with patients or TB specimens in settings classified as low risk?

OSHA’s current compliance directive (CPL 02-00-106) references the 1994 CDC guidelines which, as you know, recommended TB skin testing to be conducted at least annually for all health-care settings. The Agency’s current means of enforcement of worker protection from TB in large part falls under the provisions set by Section 5(a)(l) of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, the general duty clause. Under the general duty clause, an employer could be cited if he/she did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees exposed to the hazard of being infected with Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. An employer’s adherence with the recommendations of the most recent CDC guidelines would be considered to meet the provisions of the general duty clause.

Please know that employers are recommended to make determinations of risk categories only after performing a thorough workplace hazard assessment for TB (including, but not limited to making a determination of the admission of persons with unrecognized TB disease; performing an evaluation of the community profile, in consultation with the local or state TB-control program etc.). Periodic reassessment (at least annual) is also needed to assure continued employee protection.

Contributed by:

Wendy Avila SPHRM
Human Resources Manager

advanced-osm

(OSHA interpretation letter from 2009)

Is the practice required to provide Hepatitis titers to staff on an ongoing basis?

Initial Hep B titer test is to be provided to the employee at no cost to them. It is to be paid for by the practice. If adequate anti-HBs is present (>10mIU/mL),nothing more needs to be done. Periodic testing or boosting is not needed. If the post-vaccination test result is less than 10 mIU/mL, the vaccine series should be repeated and testing done 1–2 months after the second series. This information should be recorded in the person’s health record.

Information provided by :

healthcare-compliance-pros

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  • american-association-orthopaedic-executives
  • texas-orthopaedic-association
  • texas-medical-association
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