Let’s start with travel time. As a general rule, any time spent traveling to a training site, beyond the time spent to travel to an employee’s regular work location, can be counted as paid time.
In terms of paying for mileage, L&I is clear that meals, per diem fuel and lodging expenses are benefits given by the business at its own discretion.
It’s best to clarify the company’s position on these matters well beforehand in an employee handbook. We’d recommend as much as reasonable, to reimburse employees for travel time in excess of their regular commute time along with all relevant business travel expenses.
To do otherwise needlessly promotes resentment that in the long run, will far outweigh the saved expense.
