Section 3600.8 Of Chapter 3. Conditions Of Compensation Liability From California Labor Code >> Division 4. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 3.
3600.8
. (a) No employee who voluntarily participates in an
alternative commute program that is sponsored or mandated by a
governmental entity shall be considered to be acting within the
course of his or her employment while utilizing that program to
travel to or from his or her place of employment, unless he or she is
paid a regular wage or salary in compensation for those periods of
travel. An employee who is injured while acting outside the course of
his or her employment, or his or her dependents in the event of the
employee's death, shall not be barred from bringing an action at law
for damages against his or her employer as a result of this section.
(b) Any alternative commute program provided, sponsored, or
subsidized by an employee's employer in order to comply with any trip
reduction mandates of an air quality management district or local
government shall be considered a program mandated by a governmental
entity. An employer's reimbursement of employee expenses or
subsidization of costs related to an alternative commute program
shall not be considered payment of a wage or salary in compensation
for the period of travel. If an employer's salary is not based on the
hours the employee works, payment of his or her salary shall not be
considered to be in compensation for the period of travel unless
there is a specific written agreement between the employer and the
employee to that effect. If an employer elects to provide workers'
compensation coverage for those employees who are passengers in a
vehicle owned and operated by the employer or an agent thereof, those
employees shall be considered to be within the course of their
employment, provided the employer notifies employees in writing prior
to participation of the employee or coverage becoming effective.
(c) As used in this section, "governmental entity" means a
regional air district, air quality management district, congestion
management agency, or other local jurisdiction having authority to
enact air pollution or congestion management controls or impose them
upon entities within its jurisdiction.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, vanpool programs
may continue to provide workers' compensation benefits to employees
who participate in an alternative commute program by riding in a
vanpool, in the case in which the vanpool vehicle is owned or
registered to the employer.
(e) Employees of the state who participate in an alternative
commute program, while riding in a vanpool vehicle that is registered
to or owned by the state, shall be deemed to be within the course
and scope of employment for workers' compensation purposes only.