I'm confused about hours worked in relation to my job.
First of all, I live in Colorado. My job involves me traveling to several different work sites per day and then back home. These work sites are homes, and their distance from the business office can vary greatly. Sometimes I'm in the town I live, sometimes I'm driving 2.5 hours a way to a home in the mountains.
I drive a company truck that I am allowed to take home, but I am not allowed to use for personal reasons. I occasionally visit the shop before I head to my first jobsite, but usually I drive straight from home to my first jobsite
I am classified as an overtime exempt salaried employee, however I am pretty sure this is in error because my work is blue collar in nature, and I don't manage anyone other than myself, nor do I perform any administrative duties.
My question is how does travel time affect my hours worked given all these details? I've looked at federal labor law and my state labor laws and it simply is not specific enough for my particular situation. My workload does not change in relation to my drive time, so when I have to drive 2.5 hours away, my days can end up being 11-12 hours long, of which I'm only being paid for 8. For reference, the shop is only 15 minutes from my house.
I appreciate any input on the matter.