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Travel Guidelines for Union Staff

Business Related Travel Guidelines for Union Staff

Travel details, e.g., flights, hotels, rental cars, must be discussed and approved by your supervisor prior to making any arrangements. Travel arrangements (e.g., flight, hotels, rental cars) must be made in accordance with Cornell Policy 3.2, Travel Expenses.

 

Hours of Work during Business-related Travel

  • If the travel requirements and the attendance at the training or conference exceeds 40 hours in the pay week (Thursday to Wednesday) employees will be paid overtime (1.5).
  • If the travel requirements and/or attendance at the training or conference exceeds 8 hours in a day, employee will be paid overtime (1.5).
  • There is no pyramiding of overtime.
  • Employees traveling on a Saturday or Sunday shall be paid one and half (1.5x) times their regular rate.
  • Business related travel on an approved university holiday is considered overtime and will be paid in accordance with Articles 15 and 28 of the BTC contract, Articles 33 and 34 of the UAW contract and the university pay guidelines.
  • Employees will be paid for the hours at the training or conference with the exception of meals and optional social and non-training related activities.
  • When returning home from business related travel, if the employee arrives before the end of their normal scheduled work time, they will be paid to end of their regularly scheduled shift.
  • Personal extended stays at the destination of business-related travel will not be compensated and are considered out of pocket expenses.
  • If an employee’s delay is due to circumstances out of their control, e.g., weather, equipment failure, overbooked flight, the employee will be paid for their regularly scheduled hours until they reach their home airport.
    • Rescheduling a flight for personal reasons is not considered “circumstances out of their control”.

 

Business Required Air Travel

  • Employees will not be paid for the hours of travel from their residence to the home airport and the travel from the home airport to your residence.
  • On the day of travel to the training or other business-related purpose, employees will be paid for the hours from arriving at the home airport until reaching the hotel or training/ business location.
  • On the day of travel home from the training or other business-related purpose, employees will be paid for the hours traveling from the location of training/ conference (hotel, motel, convention center, etc.) to the home airport.

 

Parking at the Airport

  • Airport parking expenses are reimbursable by submitting the appropriate receipts to FCS Finance on your return.

 

Single Day Travel

  • If an employee is required to travel to another location for training and return home in the same workday, the travel time to and from the other location will be paid. Any meal breaks taken during this time are unpaid. In the event employees travel in one vehicle, all employees will be paid straight time pay for the hours spent traveling. If the time the employee is traveling after the training exceeds 8 hours, it will be paid as overtime (1.5).

 

Rental Cars

  • When two or more individuals from FCS, up to four (4) employees, are traveling for the same business need, only one rental car will be authorized for the duration of the travel.

    • Whenever possible, using a Cornell fleet vehicle is encouraged

       

Meals and other incidentals (in accordance with Cornell Policy 3.2, Travel Expenses)

  • Cornell reimburses meals using the per diem rate for the location where you are staying the night. Cornell will not reimburse you for meals provided at the business event you attend (e.g., conferences, training, etc.).