Unsafe Conditions Commuting Rule

Under this rule, the value of commuting transportation you provide a qualified employee solely because of unsafe conditions is $1.50 for a one-way commute (that is, from home to work or from work to home). This amount must be included in the employee's wages or reimbursed by the employee.

You can use the unsafe conditions commuting rule if all the following requirements are met.

1. The employee would ordinarily walk or use public transportation for commuting.
2. You have a written policy under which you do not provide the transportation for personal purposes other than commuting because of unsafe conditions.
3. The employee does not use the transportation for personal purposes other than commuting because of unsafe conditions.

These requirements must be met on a trip-by-trip basis.

Commuting transportation. This is transportation to or from work by any motorized wheeled vehicle (including an automobile) manufactured for use on public streets, roads, and highways. You or the employee must buy the transportation from a party that is not related to you. If the employee buys it, you must reimburse the employee for its cost (for example, cabfare) under a bona fide reimbursement arrangement.

Qualified employee. A qualified employee for 2002 is one who:

1. Performs services during the year,
2. Is paid on an hourly basis,
3. Is not claimed under section 213(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (as amended) to be exempt from the minimum wage and maximum hour provisions,
4. Is within a classification for which you actually pay, or have specified in writing that you will pay, overtime pay of at least one and one-half times the regular rate provided in section 207 of the 1938 Act, and
5. Receives pay of not more than $80,000 during the year.

However, an employee is not considered a qualified employee if you do not comply with the recordkeeping requirements concerning the employee's wages, hours, and other conditions and practices of employment under section 211(c) of the 1938 Act and the related regulations.

Unsafe conditions. Unsafe conditions exist if, under the facts and circumstances, a reasonable person would consider it unsafe for the employee to walk or use public transportation at the time of day the employee must commute. One factor indicating whether it is unsafe is the history of crime in the geographic area surrounding the employee's workplace or home at the time of day the employee commutes.

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