Three commutes; zero compensation

The Department of Labor just answered a question a lot of employers have been wondering about: if an employee splits her day between home and office, who pays for the drive in between?

TL;DR: Splitting the workday between home and office doesn't mean paying for the commute.

Start with what's never been in dispute: the drive to the office in the morning and home at night has never been compensated. That's true no matter how far away the employee lives, how bad the traffic is, or how many hours she works once she gets there. It's an ordinary commute, and ordinary commutes have always been on the employee's own time.

The harder question is what happens when that commute moves to the middle of the workday. A new Wage and Hour Division Opinion Letter works through three real scenarios.

WIRTW #810 (the 'Aix's and Eau's' edition)

For those who are unfamiliar with my podcasting side hustle, for the past five years I've co-hosted a show with my daughter, Norah. We just launched season 5 of The Norah and Dad Show, and for the first time it's transatlantic.

Norah recorded from Aix-en-Provence, France, where she's spending the semester in a French immersion program. While her audio quality may have suffered a bit without her usual recording rig, the conversation most definitely did not.

On this episode we check in on her first week living in France. We'll be back with new episodes every other Tuesday with a new episode.

Here is short clip to whet your appetite.

You can find this week's episode full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, in your browser, and everywhere else you get your podcasts. If your not yet subscribed, please consider doing so.

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Here's what I read this week that you should read, too.

6 tips to stop a thief within your business

Most employers worry about the thief outside the building. Yet, if someone's stealing from you it's probably an employee inside it.

Jennifer O'Neal worked as a program specialist for a Georgia nonprofit, CASA of Polk & Haralson Inc., which advocates for abused and neglected children. From 2018 to 2022, prosecutors say she used her access to the organization's bank accounts to cut payments to herself, disguised as legitimate reimbursements.

The total: $96,700.

The money went to her power bill. Her water and sewage bill. Her cellphone bill. A Netflix subscription. Softball gear. Lingerie. Home theater equipment. A trip to Six Flags.

O'Neal pled guilty this week to theft of federal program funds.

The two-day mistake that sent retaliation claim to trial

Two days.

That's the entire gap between John Shoemaker asking McKesson Corp. for FMLA leave and McKesson telling him he was fired. 

A federal judge just said that two-day gap alone survives summary judgment.

Big firm ability. Small firm agility.

Big firm ability. Small firm agility.

That's Wickens Herzer Panza in six words. Chambers just backed it up three times over.

Wickens Herzer Panza picked up three rankings in the 2027 Chambers Ohio Spotlight Guide: Labor & Employment (the group I lead), Corporate/Commercial, and Litigation: General Commercial.

Only two other firms in all of Ohio matched that. Nobody beat it.