Hernandez v. Pacific Bell Tel. Co., 29 Cal. App. 5th 131 (2018)
Employees of Pacific Bell who install and repair video and internet services in customers’ homes asserted a putative class action against the company for allegedly unpaid compensation for time they spent traveling in an employer-provided vehicle (loaded with equipment and tools) between their homes and a customer’s residence under an optional and voluntary Home Dispatch Program (“HDP”). Pacific Bell argued that commuting in an employer-provided vehicle is compensable under California law only if such commuting is mandated, whereas participation in the HDP was optional and voluntary. The trial court agreed, granting summary judgment in Pacific Bell’s favor, and the Court of Appeal affirmed.
