Well... this is a tough one, I can say we used to get compensation for travel time, now it is only during normal hours. However, I annually go to Siggraph conference which starts on a Saturday (well, registration on Saturday if you want to attend the Sunday courses, which I do). So I am travelling Saturday without compensation, but I could actually charge hours for standing in line for registration and the class on Sunday. However, there is a few noteable problems.... Most people in my profession are paid directly out of tax payer money. This creates somewhat of a worry, taxpayers probably wouldn't appreciate paying for time sitting on the air-craft. On the otherhand, although I don't do the laptop-workaholic business anymore, you don't stop me from thinking. But the tax payer can't know that. They only see wasted time. In the past, there was compensation for travel time outside of normal work hours. I don't know where the answer lies. Part of it is in education of everyone on what it means. If all govt. contractors save money by not paying compensation for travel hours, their stock value increases against the overhead of other companies in 3D graphics which compensate their employees. Some contractors even have what is called "green time" or a "free" hour before every 3 overtime. So if you work for 4 hours past 40 hours a week, you get 40 regular 1 green, and 3 OT. This is the first hour, so if you work 41 hours, you get paid for 40. I know at least one contractor that requires 1 hour of "green" time a week wether you work more than 41 hours is up to you. This increases the value of a contractor on bid to government contracts (we don't do this yet, but others do), and lowers the cost per employee work hour across the company average, increasing the value of the company stock. Non government contractors then get the idea of doing similar operations to reduce cost per man-hour overhead while maintaining the same work, and increasing their stock value as well. I have worked as a truly "exempt" employee in the corporate work-force. I worked 92.5 hours in a week writing W2 magnetic media reporting over a single weekend -- I got paid my usual rate as if I worked 40 hours. Although here not all time is compensated in every way, if the government requires my presence and my work after hours, they are also required to compensate me for it. I think the good of that outweighs loosing a few hours travelling to one coast or another. I have been much worse off in my last job. edit: and OT hours for salaried is c
