Embedded Files
The Office of the State Controller maintains authority over travel policy and guidance. This FAQ, along with DOR’s Travel Manual, are intended to supplement and clarify travel related policies and guidance adopted by the Office of the State Controller.
State Work Location - the assigned location where you work and/or have the ability to schedule hoteling space. These are State-owned or State-leased buildings, such as 1881 Pierce Street and 1707 Cole.
Helpful Definitions
Commuting Miles - the number of miles you drive to and from your State Work Location.
Extended Workday - a day in which work time, plus travel time, plus regularly scheduled breaks total 14 hours or more.
Is it Travel, or is it Transportation?
Which expenses are reimbursable depends on whether your situation is considered Travel or Transportation.
To be considered Traveling:
the destination must be farther than 50 miles from the employee’s State Work Location, AND
the trip must span multiple days or one extended workday, and include at least one overnight stay.
If these requirements are not met, the team member is eligible for reimbursement of Transportation expenses only.
Reimbursable expenses for Travel are:
Airfare
Lodging
Meals
Car rentals
Train, bus, shuttle, taxi, and rideshare services
Mileage
Parking
Toll road charges
Baggage fees
Conference registration fees
Tips
Business-related incidental expenses
Reimbursable expenses for Transportation are:
Mileage
Train, Bus, Shuttle, Taxi, and Rideshare Services
Parking
Toll Road Charges, and
Registration Fees
Examples
Please note that the below are examples to illustrate how travel status is determined and how mileage reimbursements are calculated in different circumstances. The mileage rates used were current when these examples were written; however, they do change. Current mileage rates populate automatically on the Transportation and Travel Reimbursement form, and can also be found on the Office of the State Controller website.
A DOR employee lives in Brush, CO, and plans to attend a two-day conference that is taking place in Castle Rock, CO. The conference is 122 miles from the employee's home, but it is within the 50-mile radius of the employee's State Work Location of 1881 Pierce Street, Lakewood. Is this considered Travel?
Answer: No. Although this trip is for two days and one overnight and therefore meets the "duration" requirement for travel, being in "travel status" also requires that the destination be outside of the 50-mile radius of the employee's State Work Location. This employee is not eligible for lodging, meals, or other Travel expenses.
Because it does not meet the criteria for Travel, this is considered a Transportation situation. The employee would drive to and from the conference each day, and would be eligible for mileage reimbursement equal to actual miles driven from Brush to Castle Rock and back minus round trip commute from Brush to Pierce times the current mileage rate.
Day 1: Brush to Castle Rock and back= 244 miles
Regular Commute (Brush to Pierce and back)= 188 miles
Difference = 50 miles
50 miles times the mileage reimbursement rate of $0.59 = $29.50 reimbursement to the employee for day 1
Day 2: Brush to Castle Rock and back= 244 miles
Regular Commute (Brush to Pierce and back)= 188 miles
Difference = 50 miles
50 miles times the mileage reimbursement rate of $0.59 = $29.50 reimbursement to the employee for day 2
Total mileage reimbursement due to this employee: $29.50+$29.50 = $59.00
The employee can also be reimbursed for any other Transportation expenses incurred, including train/bus/shuttle/taxi/rideshare services, parking, toll road charges, and registration fees.
Using the example above, assume this time that the conference is just one 10-hour-long day, including time for lunch and regularly scheduled breaks, and the drive will take 2 hours and 20 minutes each way. Is this considered Travel?
Answer: No. Driving time + breaks + conference exceeds a 14-hour day and this is therefore considered an extended workday. However, the criteria for Travel is not met because the conference is within 50 miles of the employee's State Work Location. To be considered Travel, the employee's destination must be outside the 50-mile radius of their State Work Location.
A DOR employee lives in Lake George, CO. A conference is taking place in Florissant, CO, which is 5 miles away from the employee's home and outside the 50-mile radius of their State Work Location (1881 Pierce Street, Lakewood). The conference plus lunch/breaks and drive time is a 10-hour long work day. Is this Travel? Is employee eligible for lodging? Mileage reimbursement?
Answer: No. This does not meet the criteria for Travel and therefore the employee is not eligible for lodging. Although the employee will be traveling outside of the 50-mile radius of their State Work Location (Pierce), because the conference does not require them to be away for substantially longer than a normal workday (i.e. does not exceed a 14-hour day) this is not considered Travel and they are not eligible for lodging.
In this situation, the employee would be eligible for reimbursement for any and all Transportation expenses. However, since the distance from their home to the conference is less than their regular commute, their reimbursement is $0.
Lake George to Florissant and back= 10 miles
Regular Commute (Lake George to Pierce and back)= 204 miles
10 miles - 204 miles <0
The employee gets no mileage reimbursement, but is eligible for reimbursement of other Transportation expenses.
If an employee attends a conference or work retreat in their Metropolitan Area (within the 50-mile radius of their State Work Location) would the employee be reimbursed for travel expenses (lodging, meals, etc.)?
Answer: No, because the employee is not traveling outside of the 50-mile radius of their state work location - a requirement to be considered in "travel status." The employee would be eligible for reimbursement of Transportation expenses only.
An employee who lives in Aurora is asked to attend a one-day conference in Silverthorne, which is more than 50 miles from their State Work Location of 1707 Cole Blvd in Golden. The conference begins at 7:30am and ends at 6pm including lunch and breaks, and the round-trip drive time is 3 hours and 30 minutes. Is this travel? Is the employee eligible for lodging? Mileage?
Answer: Because the conference is outside the 50-mile radius of the employee's State Work Location, and the conference time + lunch and break time + driving time is 14 hours or more (an extended workday) the employee is eligible for lodging the night of the conference.
If the employee chooses to make use of this and stay overnight, they are in travel status and are eligible for reimbursement for the lodging and any other Travel expenses incurred during their trip.
If the employee chooses to drive home after the conference instead of staying over, they are eligible for reimbursement of Transportation expenses only.
If the employee is going to stay overnight the night of the conference, and feels that it's too burdensome due to weather or other circumstances to get up early enough to drive to the conference in the morning, they can request that their Appointing Authority approve reimbursement for lodging the night before the conference. Approval is at the discretion of the Appointing Authority.
Extended Workday
What is the basis for using 14 hours as the extended workday?
Answer: 14 hours is the minimum extended workday. There are legal cases where the tax court held that a single workday could be as long as 18 hours. A variety of business scenarios were considered in conjunction with tax court rulings to arrive at 14 hours as the standard threshold for an extended work day.
What tasks are included in the extended workday?
Answer: For purposes of defining an extended workday, a workday includes travel, work time, attendance at meeting or conference, break time (same time that employee would take if employee were not traveling).
Lodging
Can a traveler stay in a short-term rental (e.g. AirBnb, VRBO) instead of in a hotel?
Answer: No. Fiscal Rule 5-1 states that only commercial lodging costs are reimbursable, and that the definition of commercial lodging excludes short-term rentals. State Agencies and IHEs cannot pay for or reimburse for short-term rentals.
Can the State pay for an employee's lodging for the night before a conference begins?
Answer: Yes, provided that the conference is more than 50 miles from the employee's State Work Location, it involves an overnight (in addition to the night before the conference that's being discussed here), there is a valid reason, and that employee requests these accommodations on their Travel Pre-Approval Form and receives approval from their Appointing Authority.
Reimbursable Expenses
Under what circumstances can an employee be reimbursed for parking?
Answer: As long as the employee is not commuting (is not driving between home and their State Work Location), parking is reimbursable. Travelers should control costs by using an economical parking option that meets their needs, and may be required to use lower-cost alternatives that do not cause great inconvenience (e.g., remote airport lot instead of garage parking).
Can an employee be reimbursed for the cost of using rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft?
Answer: Yes, an employee can be reimbursed for the cost of using a ride share such as Uber or Lyft, provided that it is the best/most economical option for transportation under the circumstances and that it is not being used for commuting (defined as transportation to or from the employee's State Work Location).
Can an employee be reimbursed for the cost of using rideshare from the employee’s residence to a State workplace or to a State Fleet facility to pick up a State Fleet vehicle?
Answer: No, the employee would not be reimbursed for these costs. Travel from an employee’s residence to a State workplace or a State Fleet facility is not reimbursable, whether the employee uses a personal vehicle or a rideshare service.
Additional questions? Please contact Melanie Proulx at melanie.proulx@state.co.us.
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