Travel Policy
(Including COVID-19 Travel)

Summary

This template is a travel policy that governs employee travel for personal and work-related reasons (including travel to and from work and business trips). This policy also addresses the consequences of employee travel to areas at high risk for COVID-19 transmission. It contains practical guidance, drafting notes, and alternate and optional clauses. This template is intended for private employers. Employers may include this policy in an employee handbook or distribute it as a standalone policy. This travel policy is based on federal law, and it also includes California and New York state law distinctions. It does not address all potential state law distinctions; thus, you should check any relevant state and local laws. For information on travel time compensation and travel time policies under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), see Compensable Time (FLSA) — Travel Time and Travel Time Compensability Checklist. For state-specific information on compensation for travel time, see the Compensable Time column of Wage and Hour State Practice Notes Chart. For annotated expenses policies, see Expenses Policy, Expenses Policy (with Acknowledgment) (CA), and Expenses Policy (FL). For information on drafting an expenses policy, see Expense Policies (Including Business, Travel, and Entertainment): Key Drafting Tips. For a travel notice that essential employees can present to law enforcement authorities while traveling or otherwise out in public during public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, or other circumstances that severely restrict or prohibit public movement, see Travel Notice to Present to Law Enforcement during Public Travel/Movement Restrictions. For information on federal, state, and major local employment laws addressing the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, see Coronavirus (COVID-19) Federal and State Employment Law Tracker. For a resource kit focused on employees returning to work and broken up by key employment law topics, see Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Kit: Return to Work.