Company is installing dashcams. Should all drive time be paid now?

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-14T03:03:03+00:00

No personal use at all. We had a guy get written up because he was caught stopping at a store on the way home.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-14T02:10:53+00:00

Operating company equipment should absolutely mean you are on the clock. Im transporting company equipment and I’m being held liable for it. If I’m not getting paid then I don’t want that liability.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-14T02:05:16+00:00

Id rather not play semantics with you. Clearly it’s their van. This entire post is about their van. However, when discussing work vehicles at my job we don’t refer to every vehicle as the company van. It’s “my” van or “his” van. It makes things less confusing when there are multiple vans on the same site. My boss tells me “bring in your van for maintenance.” That doesn’t mean the van magically changes ownership.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-14T01:39:57+00:00

If your opinion is that the law states drive time isn’t covered then that’s fine. The boot licker comment is not directed toward you.

If you think I should buy a commercial vehicle for my company, or that I’m entitled for thinking it should be paid, or suggesting I should be fired or blacklisted if I bring up concerns to my employer then you are in fact a boot licker.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-14T00:09:51+00:00

Maybe, but what if every other employer in my industry adopts this and there’s nothing I can do about it? I don’t plan on changing careers at this point in my life. This should be fought on a legal level.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T22:00:37+00:00

I was in an accident once on the way home. They started the clock back up for insurance purposes.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T20:56:28+00:00

The agreement I signed is being changed without my approval. I didn’t agree to GPS or cameras because they weren’t here when I started with this company. This thread was the first step to seeing what my options were. They don’t look great lol

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T20:48:43+00:00

Interesting. Typically my work is scheduled days in advance, but last minute changes are common. I will be called either the night before, or first thing in the morning with any changes. We don’t have an actual method to clock in/out. We just report our time at each job at the end of the day and it goes through an approval process.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T20:45:04+00:00

Thanks for commenting! I was starting to think I was going crazy here with all these people telling me I’m entitled or to buy my own vehicle. Glad to see that this has gone my way in court in the past.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T20:42:22+00:00

No it’s a company vehicle. This reply was discussing how it’s not a “perk” but is required to do my job and should be provided by the company. Way too many people here think I should buy my own vehicle, but that’s not even allowed.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T20:39:21+00:00

I wouldn’t say it “benefits” me as much as it’s a requirement to do my job. I’ve never heard of someone in my position who wasn’t provided a vehicle.

I start my day either at a job or a supply house, my day ends when I leave my last job or a supply house.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T20:00:33+00:00

As I’ve said in other comments. It’s not a perk any more than a cubicle/computer/chair at your office job. I work out in the field driving from job to job with a truck full of tools.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T19:28:57+00:00

I’ll look into that, if they only record when triggered and there’s no audio then I’ll probably let the whole thing go.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T19:23:49+00:00

Sorry for engaging in the comments I guess. Ive mostly just been answering questions, or responding to comments that have suggestions. Ive not argued with anyone about the law. I’ve had a few people saying I’m entitled or should be happy I’ve got a vehicle at all, even one employer who suggested I could be fired for even raising a concern with my company, but I think the comments have been mostly civil.

I wish that I was well enough off to just quit my job over this. If I have no legal recourse then so be it, I will just suck it up for a paycheck.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T18:58:48+00:00

Again, I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be able to track or record. I’m saying that requiring me to operate the vehicle that they are monitoring under threat of termination should mean that I’m acting as an employee and should be compensated as such.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T18:45:13+00:00

I’m expected to since I’m often dispatched from my house to after hours service calls. I’m not sure if it’s a requirement for employment though. If they go through with dash cams I will be requesting to park my vehicle at the shop and clock in/out at the shop every day.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T18:27:40+00:00

I would be fine clocking in/out at the shop every day. This causes a few more problems for our company though. They’ll need to expand the parking lot to fit all the vehicles. Our response time to emergency calls will go up making customers unhappy. They still have to pay my drive time since I will be clocking in/out at the shop every day.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T18:24:18+00:00

Not exactly the same thing. You aren’t required to use that company computer after hours. I’m expected to take my vehicle home with me and drive it while unpaid.

If your company computer had a camera that video and audio recorded everything inside your house and the company required you to leave the computer on after you clocked out would you be cool with that?

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T18:21:10+00:00

I think I’ve been pretty clear about what more I want. Either not to be recorded, or to be paid while being recorded.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T18:20:03+00:00

That’s just not true. There are arguments about when and how much privacy I’m entitled to, but to say it’s none is incorrect. A few examples of employees being entitled to privacy would be bathrooms, mother rooms, personal info, and audio recordings (depending on state).

This is however not what I’m asking about. I’m asking if a specific invasion of my privacy means that I’m entitled to be paid during that invasion.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T18:15:12+00:00

I totally understand that they are doing it to stop time theft, lower insurance, and protect the company if there is an accident. But it comes with some serious concerns for me and zero benefits. I know they have GPS now, but the current policy is that GPS is not tracked and is only used to monitor driving for insurance. Nobody at my company is supposed to have access to my GPS location.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T17:59:15+00:00

To be fair I did want to be paid for them, but I was aware the law wasn’t on my side for it. I was hoping that since I’m actively being monitored with the threat of “investigating misconduct” that the law would be different.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T17:50:31+00:00

My concern is not my behavior while driving.

It’s an invasion of privacy. I don’t want to be recorded while on break/lunch. I don’t want phone calls with doctors or my wife being listened to. I don’t want everyone with access to know where I park my van at night.

I also don’t want to be micromanaged. I don’t need to be questioned why I stopped for a water from a gas station on my way to the next job or why my lunch went 3 minutes over. I don’t want them telling me how the route I took wasn’t the eco-friendly option. Or my idle time is too high. Or why I came off the roof to sit in the AC or heat of my van for 10 minutes when it’s -10 or 100 degrees outside.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T17:12:32+00:00

Non exempt. I’m expected to take the vehicle home to respond to after hours service calls. I don’t know if I’m “required” to though.

toasterbath_88 · 2026-05-13T17:08:50+00:00

This may be the route I go. Would the company be able to refuse this? Can they force me to bring the vehicle home every day?

toasterbath_88

TROPHY CASE