I am going to a conference that will be held on a Monday and Tuesday, I will be flying out on Sunday and then leaving Monday night (Hourly). My questions are:
1. Does the company need to pay me for the Sunday travel even though it is not a regular work day?
2. The conference is over at 2:15 pm and my flight isn't until 7:15pm do they need to pay me for the time between 2:15 and 7:15?

There will also be a reception and a dinner that will follow the Monday meetings, my boss told me that I won't get paid for that either as that is my choice.

Thanks

#1) If you work in California, yes. This would be true even if the place you are going is out of California.

#2) You need to be paid for all travel time. That is, if at 2:15, you drive to the airport, then that time needs to be paid. The time spent waiting for the plane would need to be paid for. Given that you should arrive at the airport 2 hours before your flight, that time would need to be paid for as well. However, if at 2:15 you go to a bar and drink beers for 4 hours before you dash off to the airport to just barely make your flight, then the time spent drinking would not need to be paid for.

In terms of the dinner, even if it is not mandatory, you still must be paid if you are under the direction and control of the employer. For instance, if you boss said "You can work Friday, but only if you want to." Obvisously, it is your choice to come in or not. However, if you do, you need to be paid for it. In this case, it would depend on what the dinner and reception are for. If it is directly for your company and company information is discussed, then it would be considered work hours. If it is a benefit for curing cancer or something unrelated to work, it would not need to be paid for. In any case, you would probably have a pretty hard time proving that this was time worked.