It's an illogical situation that has been entrenched by traditions.
So that the employer can reduce payroll by not hiring people who live rather than Xmiles. Now tell me about employees who walk to work, or drive a car that gets good gas milage, or an electric vehicle or takes a bus, or takes a subway, then walks, or drives to the NYC Port authority, then takes a bus, then takes a taxi, or takes the subway. Or bikes to work. Made even more complex by the idea that people should be paid their hourly - making it a tap-dance - you want horly pay? Seems like someone with a two hour commute would be making good money for half his day, doing nothing. Or of course, working an 8 hour day, the ride home would be paid overtime.
I think what you think is logical is a wildly complex system, and almost impossible to implement.
You technically are not working when at home off hours outside employee supervision just coming up with ideas on your own, unless the employer has written a very distinct arrangement with you into a contract.
I exactly am doing work that is intrinsically tied to my profession. I don't expect paid for it, but if I didn't dream the solution the solution might not be had.
As for that which you don't write down or document in a tangible form.. How can you even prove work was done if asked to make a showing?
I'll bite - how do you prove that you spent 2 hours 15 minutes and ten seconds on that commute you believe you should be paid for? tracking your car or otherwise location? Text Message?
There is another whole world besides punching a time clock. If your arcane solution would be taken to force hourly workers paid for their commute, the response would be to put just about everyone on a salary system, or payment by task system.
