SAMET CORPORATION
Policy Name
Policy #
Author
Travel Policy
Origination Date
Revision Date
3-2008
Committee
Draft
5-2012
Approved
X
Associates of Samet Corporation are sometimes required to travel for Samet business purposes.
Expenses related to business travel can include personal vehicle mileage, meals, the cost of
overnight stays or even the cost of temporary housing. The following defines Samet policies
with respect to various travel scenarios. If your particular situation is not covered, please
contact your direct manager or Human Resources.
Office-Based, Roving and Home-Based designations:
For the purposes of discussing automobile travel policies, all Samet associates fall into one of
three categories:
1. Office-based – this includes associates who are assigned to a Samet office, have an
assigned workspace at a Samet office and whose work is normally performed in a
Samet office. These associates may travel to Samet project sites and other locations
for business purposes and may even be assigned on a short, intermediate or long-term
basis to a Samet project site, but will ultimately return to a Samet office. Associates
working in Project Management, Project Administration, Project Development and
Preconstruction roles living in the Piedmont Triad or the Charlotte metro area would
typically fall into this category.
2. Roving – these are associates whose primary work assignments are on job site
locations. Most Superintendents and Field associates, as well as some Project
Managers who live in areas outside of a reasonable commute to a Samet office would
typically fall in this category.
3. Home-based – these are associates who live in remote areas from a Samet office but
primarily perform their duties from an office in their home. Sales or Project
Development associates who work from a home office are the most common
examples.
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Definition of Home Base for business travel purposes:
1. For most Samet associates, home base is their permanent residence.
2. For associates who are staying in hotels, apartments or in temporary housing for a
single night or longer, that location is considered home base once they arrive and
establish a base there.
Automobile Travel and Commute Mileage
Commute miles or mileage is defined as the distance from home base to the work location. See
appendix for detailed examples to the policies referenced below.
1. For Office-based associates, commute mileage is the distance from their residence to
the office or from their residence to the current job site, if their office is established at a
job site. All business travel that begins or ends at home base to or from a destination
other than the assigned office or worksite is considered business mileage, adjusted by
the standard commute miles for that associate.
a. A round trip from home base to work at a Samet office is not considered
business mileage (Examples 1 and 2).
b. A round trip from one Samet office or worksite to another Samet office or
worksite is considered business mileage (Example 3).
c. A trip that begins or ends at home base but involves a trip to a destination other
than the normal office is subject to a commute mileage adjustment. (Example 4)
d. An associate who is temporarily assigned to a job site which is farther from home
base than their normally assigned office may be eligible for a commute subsidy
for the extra mileage incurred with the assignment. (Example 5)
2. For Roving Associates, commute mileage equals the actual distance from their
permanent or temporary residence to the assigned job site or 50 miles, whichever is
less.
a. The first 50 miles of each leg of a round trip from home to a Samet job site is
considered commute mileage. The balance of each leg is considered business
mileage. (Examples 8 and 9)
b. Home base resets when an associate is staying in temporary housing. The
commute mileage for Roving associates who are staying in temporary housing is
defined as the distance from the location of the temporary housing to the job
site. Mileage from the permanent residence to the temporary housing is
considered business mileage. (Example 10)
c. When associates are assigned temporary housing, any travel directly between
the job site and the permanent residence is adjusted by the commute mileage
from the temporary housing and the job site. (Example 11)
Non-exempt associates will also use their standard commute mileage for determining
when their workday begins and ends. They should record travel time that occurs after the
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commuting mileage ends but before they arrive at the job site or destination as travel
time on their time sheet. The inverse would apply on the commute home – the final 50
miles are off the clock. All qualified travel time will be paid as straight-time. Travel hours
are not considered overtime nor included in overtime calculations.
Overnight Stays, Temporary Housing and Per Diem
Samet associates may be required to spend one or more consecutive nights in a hotel or in temporary
housing associated with performing Samet business. The following policies apply to those stays. Please
refer to Tables 1 and 2 for current rates associated with per diem and allowances associated with
temporary housing. See appendix for detailed examples as referenced below.
Short-term: Hotel stays
Samet will reimburse associates 100% of the cost of staying in an approved hotel. The Group Manager,
Project Executive, Function Leader or direct supervisor will have approval authority with regard to the
appropriate class of hotel for the stay.
Associates are eligible for 100% of the posted meal per diem rate in Table 1 for each night spent in a
hotel. They are eligible for 25% of the posted meal per diem rate for travel days on the front or back
end of a hotel stay as shown in Table 1. (Example 12)
Intermediate-term stays
If the need for temporary housing extends beyond a few weeks, but will last less than 1 year, the
company may decide that an alternative to a traditional business hotel may be more appropriate.
Temporary housing may take the form of an extended stay hotel, an apartment or an associate-provided
solution such as an RV or camper. There are two scenarios which may take place in this case:
1. The company secures temporary housing for the associate and pays the rent directly. In this
case, the associate is eligible for the intermediate term monthly meal allowance in Table 2 for
each month he/she stays in the temporary housing in lieu of a daily meal per diem. Partial
months are prorated. The associate can submit an expense report to get reimbursed for utilities
to include power, natural gas, water, and basic cable service. Expanded cable packages, payper-view charges, phone and internet services are not eligible for reimbursement. (Example 6)
2. The associate takes a temporary housing allowance and pays the rent, utilities and other
expenses him or herself. In this case, the associate is eligible for both the intermediate monthly
meal allowance and the intermediate monthly housing allowance in Table 2. (Examples 7 and
13)
Long-term stays
If a stay in temporary housing is expected to last one year or longer at the time the project begins, the
stay is categorized as a long-term stay and the allowances are considered taxable income by the IRS.
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The policies for reimbursement remain the same as for intermediate stays, but the associate will be
eligible for the long-term rates in Table 2.
Tables1
Table 1 – per diem rates for hotel stays and periods of transition prior to entering intermediate or longterm temporary housing:
Meals
$30/day
$ 7.50/day
Full per diem linked to hotel stay
25% per diem linked to travel days
Housing
Actual Cost
-
Table 2 – monthly allowances for intermediate stays (expected to last less than one year) or long-term
stays (expected to last 1 year or longer) in an apartment or temporary housing:
Monthly allowance intermediate stays (projected < 1 year)
Monthly allowance long-term2 stays (projected > 1 year)
1Group
Meals
$550
$800
Housing
$1,000
$1,400
Managers may adjust the standard rates based on unique project characteristics.
for long-term stays are considered taxable income by the IRS and are subject to tax withholdings when paid.
2Allowances
Appendix
Examples for Office-based Associates
Example 1: Bob lives 10 miles from the Samet office in Greensboro, where he has an office and
normally works. His drive to and from work each day is considered commute mileage not
business mileage and defines his daily commute as 10 miles for the purposes of this policy.
Example 2: Sally lives 65 miles from the Samet office in Greensboro, but makes the commute
every day to her office there. Her drive to and from work is considered commute mileage and
establishes her commute mileage as 65 miles. Even though her commute exceeds the 50 mile
standard for roving associates, she has chosen to live where she lives and commute to an office
that was established when she took the job, so any business trips originating from or ending at
her home are subject to a 65 mile commute mileage adjustment.
Example 3: Bob drives his normal 10 miles to the Samet office and works in his office for two hours
before heading to a meeting across town. He returns to the office and works the rest of the day prior to
driving home. The travel from the Samet office to the meeting and back is considered business travel.
Example 4: Bob has a meeting in Charlotte on Tuesday morning. He drives directly from his residence to
Charlotte that morning, from the Charlotte meeting to the Greensboro office after the meeting and then
home at the end of the workday. The drive from his home to the Charlotte office is 100 miles. Samet
considers 90 miles of this leg to be business mileage (subtracting his normal 10 mile commute from that
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leg of the trip). The mileage from the Charlotte meeting to the Greensboro office is considered business
mileage, also. The mileage from the Greensboro office to his residence at the end of the day is
considered commute mileage.
Example 5: Bob, who normally lives 10 miles from the Samet office and is an office-based associate, is
asked to work on a job site for 3 months that is 25 miles from his residence. With Group Manager
approval, Bob may be eligible to claim 15 miles each leg as business mileage. There may be some
projects where this subsidy is not available for commutes remaining less than 50 miles. However, if the
new commute exceeds 50 miles, any mileage over 50 miles will be considered business mileage.
Example 6: Bob is asked to spend 6 months at a project in Asheville, NC. The company signs a 6-month
lease on an apartment and pays the rent and utilities directly. Bob drives home to Greensboro some
weekends and stays in Asheville on others. Bob is eligible for the intermediate monthly meal allowance
in Table 2, but is not eligible for any full or partial per diem meal expenses.
Example 7: Bob is asked to spend 5 months in Columbia, SC on a project. Bob decides to take the
monthly housing allowance and find his own place to stay. Bob is eligible for the intermediate monthly
meal allowance and the intermediate monthly housing allowance in Table 2. He is not eligible for any
full or partial per diem meal expenses.
Examples for Roving Associates
Example 8: Stan has a residence in Asheboro, NC but works as an Assistant Superintendent on a Samet
project near Charlotte, NC. It is 68 miles from his residence to the job site, but Stan drives home each
night. Since the first 50 miles of each leg is considered commute mileage for a roving associate, Stan is
eligible to be reimbursed for 18 business miles each leg, or 36 miles per round trip.
Example 9: Stan drives from his home in Asheboro to the Greensboro office on a Monday morning for a
training class at Samet University. He leaves from the office after the training and drives to Wilmington.
The Greensboro office is 25 miles from his residence. The trip to the Samet office, being less than 50
miles, is not considered business mileage, but the entire trip from the Samet office to the Wilmington job
site (or apartment) is considered business mileage. His trip from the job site to his Wilmington apartment
is considered commute mileage.
Example 10: Stan has a residence in Asheboro, NC but works as an Assistant Superintendent on a Samet
project in Wilmington, NC where he stays in an apartment during the week. Stan drives from his
residence in Asheboro to his apartment in Wilmington on Sunday afternoon, a distance of 180 miles. The
distance from the apartment to the job site is 10 miles. The 180 miles from Stan’s permanent residence
to the temporary housing in Wilmington is considered business mileage, so the 180 mile trip qualifies for
mileage reimbursement. Upon arriving at the apartment, Stan has reset his home base to the
apartment, so his 10 mile daily commute is his standard commute mileage.
Example 11: Stan drives from his apartment in Wilmington to the job site on Friday morning and then
leaves from the job site to drive directly to his residence in Asheboro Friday afternoon. The 10 mile drive
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from his apartment (home base) to the job site each day is considered commute mileage. It is 190 miles
from the job site to his residence. Adjusting for his 10 mile commute mileage, 180 miles of this leg of the
trip is considered business mileage.
Example 12: Stan is sent to Wilmington, NC for 4 days and 3 nights to assist on a project. Stan checks-in
to the nearby hotel recommended by the Project Executive and spends Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday night in the hotel, works Thursday on the site and drives home late afternoon on Thursday.
Stan is eligible to be reimbursed for 100% of the cost of the hotel and full meal per diem for the three
days he stayed in the hotel plus a meal per diem at the 25% rate for Thursday, his travel day.
Example 13: Stan is asked to join Bob in Asheville for 4 months of the project. Stan has an RV and
prefers it to staying in a hotel or apartment for intermediate stays. Stan is eligible for the intermediate
monthly meal allowance and the intermediate monthly housing allowance in Table 2. He is not eligible
for any full or partial per diem meal expenses.
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