Third Circuit on compensation for commuting requirements

Black letter law dictates that time spent commuting is generally not compensable. But are there exceptions? The Third Circuit issued an interesting (albeit, not precedential) opinion on a quirky commuting scenario in Smith v. Allegheny Technologies, Inc.Not official use.The employer began a lockout of its union employees, who responded by creating a picket line. The employer hired a temporary workforce, and allegedly required them to take company vans from their hotel to cross the picket line – roughly a 45-minute commute each way. Some of the employees filed a lawsuit claiming they were entitled to compensation for the commuting time under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act (PMWA) (also, some Oregon law, which for purposes of this case was identical to the FLSA).The Court actually reached a split decision – the employees could proceed under the PMWA, but not the FLSA. The Portal-to-Portal Act specifically excludes mandatory…

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