Question: “Can a supervisor require current employees to obtain their commercial drivers license without compensating those employees accordingly ? The license was not required when the employee was hired.”

Answer: There are three possible approaches to addressing this question: training time, GOJA/ evaluation processes, and classification/compensation. Here are brief responses to each approach.

According to Title 29, Part 785 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 785.27: training time required by the employer is compensable unless:

• Attendance is outside of the employee’s regular working hours.
• Attendance is in fact voluntary.
• The course, lecture or meeting is not directly related to the employee’s job.
• The employee does not perform any productive work during such attendance.

All four criteria must be met otherwise the time spent in training is compensable.

The supervisor should also provide funding for the training if it is a bona fide job requirement. The decision to fund training rests with the appropriate divisional vice president.

Although job requirements may change over time, management must communicate those changes to the employee(s) and should modify the employee’s GOJA and job evaluation documentation accordingly to account for the changes in duties. The addition of a new license requirement should be duly noted in the employee’s GOJA and related performance appraisal documentation.

Questions on human resources related policies, practices or problems for Texas State may be addressed to the Compensation Section of Human Resources at X2557.