California Technicians Get Second Shot at Commute, Mileage Suit

A class of service technicians who drive personal vehicles to repair copy machines can try again with a suit alleging their commute time and mileage should be compensated, after a California appeals court reversed summary judgment against them.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA Inc. technicians who traveled to customer sites using personal cars, containing tools and parts owned by Konica, sued for the alleged unpaid compensation. A trial court certified a class of about 380 workers in 2015.

The trial court decided commute time wasn’t compensable as hours worked, and that the technicians weren’t entitled to reimbursement for commute mileage. ...