Backstory: I’m a mechanical engineer and I work 100% travel installing and overseeing install of robotics machines at customer sites. I travel to the job site at the beginning of the week, and then I return home at the end of the week. I am also full-time and I’m fairly certain I’m exempt from overtime.
Over the last 6 months, and due to a multitude of reasons, many of the employees in my position have left the company, and we’ve hired contractors (hourly) to fill their positions.
Also in that time, our projects have shifted entirely to the east coast. I’m currently the only employee located on the west coast, so this makes getting to the job site very time consuming.
I recently found out that someone at my company complained to my HR department about my travel situation, as I’ve been flying in on Mondays and leaving on Fridays. Unfortunately, this means that I’m not on-site on these days, as it typically takes 8-10 hours for the one-way travel.
I requested a meeting with HR to discuss the complaint, and they said plainly that “travel time is not considered work time”. I explained that, with the job being 100% travel, the travel is part of the job. They disagree and expect me to put in the same amount of time on-site as people that are local to the project.
My big issue here is that I’m not asking for extra compensation for the time I’m spending traveling, but I am asking them to respect my time. Their response is that “this is what you signed up for”, which is entirely false.
I also asked them to provide the policy where this was stated, and they said that there isn’t one. In that regard, it sounds like they’re just hoping I won’t fight them on the issue. Is there anything I’m missing here that I need to consider before escalating this further?