What is CA law regarding an employer requiring an employee to use their vehicle for work appointments, yet not paying for any damage to vehicle which occurred on work hours? The employer does pay mileage reimbursement. Several recent incidences where an employee sustained auto damage while traveling to or from required appointments for work purposes.

This issue is a little complicated. First, it depends on the type of vehicle. If the vehicle is a typical car, it can be covered in the standard IRS rate. That is, for standard automobiles, the IRS rate includes all costs of the vehicle, including accidents caused by others. This leads to the second point. If the accident is caused by the employee as a result of mere negligence (as opposed to intentional or reckless), then the employer must pay for it, even if it has paid the IRS rate.

If it is not an automobile or the IRS rate is not paid (the IRS does not publish standard rates for non-automobiles), then all damage must be paid for by the employer.

At first these rules seem odd, but when you consider that if the accident is someone else's fault, it is likely that their insurance will pay for it, or your uninsured motorist insurance, it is not that odd.