So just some context.. this organization is a 501c non profit and is based in Minnesota.
This has happened a couple of times but most recently last week. As part of management we were signed up for a conference in the cities, which is about 2 hours from where we are. We are taking company vans where we cram 6 people into a van. There is some employees who voiced concerns of riding with certain people or a lot of people due to Covid because they still trying to be careful for the sake of their children. One staff even got a doctors note with their condition stating that because of her diagnosis she should take precautions to reduce exposure. Well this all got brushed aside and normally resulted in being argumentative from the executive director. Because of the doctors note she was called in and asked if she could perform any of her other job responsibilities correctly.
So the issue is that the executive director and HR stated that we could drive ourselves to the event but that it would be unpaid time… so 4 hours total in driving time for this conference. They claimed that they are offering us a ride up there and that if we drive ourselves we are declining their ride so therefore would be unpaid.
Is this even legal to do or is it justified? Just genuinely curious since I don’t know much about work laws.