I am a service technician and travel up to 120 miles from my work base. Management wants me to take my lunch break and report the punch times. I am often at ranches or houses far from any town and eat my lunch as a I work or sitting in the Company Truck. I am responsible for the Truck and its contents, tools that may be set up at the jobsite and the customers property I have access to often without them present.

Is the Truck and Jobsite (Customer residence) considered company "premises"?

With no town, phone service, or anything nearby am I really able to conduct personal business or leave the premises?

This is not everyday but on scheduled travel days about 2-3 times a month... Does a "on duty" meal agreement apply if signed and on file for these circumstances?

Company premises for what purpose?

If you are relieved of your duties for your employer, it is a break. The ability to engage in whatever personal pursuit you desire is not required.

However, if you are required to stay with the truck, I would guess that California MIGHT consider that work time. If all you had to do was keep it in sight, maybe not. I don't know of any black letter law that addresses this exact situation.

Company premises for what purpose?

The California Labor Code requires that you should be able to leave the company premises on a lunch break. Requiring lunch breaks on company premises also requires the employer to provide a break room. If the company sends me 2 hours drive to a remote worksite... Do I have to sit there for a minimum half hour and read a book even though I want to get the job finished and head back. The point is that it should fall under the waiver for "On duty" lunch period when there is nowhere to clockout, nowhere to go, nothing to do (personal time) and the job requirement put me in that position.

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_MealPeriods.htm

The California Labor Code requires that you should be able to leave the company premises on a lunch break. Requiring lunch breaks on company premises also requires the employer to provide a break room. If the company sends me 2 hours drive to a remote worksite... Do I have to sit there for a minimum half hour and read a book even though I want to get the job finished and head back. The point is that it should fall under the waiver for "On duty" lunch period when there is nowhere to clockout, nowhere to go, nothing to do (personal time) and the job requirement put me in that position.

Do you have the LC section for that?

That is actually a court decision. From the CA-DLSE manual:

46.5 Meal Periods : Where an employee – although relieved of all duties – is not free to leave the work place during the time allotted to such employee for eating a meal, the meal period is on duty time subject to the control of the employer, and constitutes hours worked. Bono Enterprises v. Labor Commissioner (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 968.

From the CA-DLSE fact sheet:

"Unless the employee is relieved of all duty during the entire thirty-minute meal period and is free to leave the employer's premises, the meal period shall be considered "on duty," counted as hours worked, and paid for at the employee's regular rate of pay"

Aha. Thanks, DAW.

I am a service technician and travel up to 120 miles from my work base. Management wants me to take my lunch break and report the punch times. I am often at ranches or houses far from any town and eat my lunch as a I work or sitting in the Company Truck. I am responsible for the Truck and its contents, tools that may be set up at the jobsite and the customers property I have access to often without them present.

Is the Truck and Jobsite (Customer residence) considered company "premises"?

With no town, phone service, or anything nearby am I really able to conduct personal business or leave the premises?

This is not everyday but on scheduled travel days about 2-3 times a month... Does a "on duty" meal agreement apply if signed and on file for these circumstances?

Does the company pay you for all expenses you inquire? do you ever have to buy tools or supplies without reimbursement? Are you paid while driving portal to portal (job to job)? Do you do any work at home ie. log your hours etc. for which you are not paid?