Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM OPINION and ORDER Young B. Kim, United States Magistrate Judge Cable line technicians James Brand, Barry Farmer, Mark Graham, Kevin Jackson, Michael Jackson, Jose Vigil, and Christopher Woodard (collectively, “the plaintiffs”) sued them employers, Comcast Corporation and Comcast Cable Communications Management, LLC (together, “Comcast”), under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201, et seq., and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (“IMWL”), 820 ILCS 105, et seq., claiming that Comcast failed to pay them for com-pensable work time. Before the court are Comcast’s motions for summary judgment with respect to each of the individual plaintiffs. For the following reasons, the motions are granted: Procedural History Plaintiff James Brand originally brought this suit in February 2012 as a purported collective action under the FLSA and as a class action under the IMWL" and the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (“IWPCA”),. 820 ILCS 115, et seq. In May 2012 the parties consented to the jurisdiction of this court for all further proceedings. (R. 27.) Shortly thereafter, Brand moved to conditionally certify a collective action under the FLSA. (R. 30.) In September 2012 this court granted that motion in part giving Brand permission to send notice of the collective action to “all individuals who were employed or are currently employed, by one or more of the defendants, its subsidiaries or affiliated companies, as line technicians or any similarly titled position at any time during the relevant statute of limitations "period,” but limiting notice to potential plaintiffs who have worked or work at Comeast’s 112th Street facility in Chicago. ' (R. 56, Mem. Op. at 4, 7, 20.) Two months later, the court granted Comcast’s motion to dismiss Brand’s IWPCA claim. (R. 62.) After several plaintiffs opted into the collective action and consented to this court’s jurisdiction, (R. 118), the plaintiffs filed their third amended complaint, (R. 119). In this iteration of the complaint, the plaintiffs dropped their collective and class action ■ allegations and instead brought their FLSA and IMWL claims as individuals. The plaintiffs allege that Comcast violated federal and state wage laws by failing to pay them for their overtime work. (IdJ12.) Specifically, the plaintiffs claim that Comcast encouraged them to spend time before and after their shifts performing tasks such as" reviewing assignments, checking routes, loading and unloading their vehicles, "completing their vehicle checklist, and performing work on portable computers, but it did not pay them .for performing these tasks. (Id.) Additionally, the plaintiffs allege that Comcast automatically deducted an hour from their schedule for daily meal breaks regardless of whether the plaintiffs worked through their breaks. (Id.) Finally, the plaintiffs assert that they are entb tied to compensation for time they spent on call because they claimed that they were “highly restricted” during their on-call shifts. (Id.) After a period of discovery, Comcast filed seven separate motions for summary judgment, one per each plaintiff left in the suit. (R. 136; R. 139; R. 142; R. 145; R. 148; R. 151; R. 154.) These motions are now fully briefed and ready for disposition. For the sake of efficiency, the court will address all sevén motions in the current opinion. , Facts A. Facts Applicable to All Seven Plaintiffs The following undisputed facts apply across the board to all seven of the plaintiffs’ claims. For ease of citation, the court will cite only to Brand’s response to Comcast’s Rule 56.1 statement of facts and Comcast’s reply to Brand’s additional facts with respect to the universally applicable facts. 1. Line Technicians’ Job Duties Comcast provides cable, entertainment, and communications products and services in the state of Illinois. (R. 167, PL’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 2.) The plaintiffs are all current or former line technicians who work or have worked at Comcast’s 112th Street facility in Chicago. Comcast employs line technicians to maintain its cable network ,infrastructure. (IdJ6.) A .line technician is responsible for maintaining node health, repairing outages, signal testing, and addressing other system issues for the network plant. (Id.) In particular, line technicians, are charged with promptly identifying and restoring hard line plant issues. (IdJ7.) Comcast provides line technicians with a company work vehicle that they cán use only for Comcast business and not for personal purposes. (R. 197, Defs.’ Resp. to PL’s Add’l Facts ¶ 3.) Comcast line technicians who work at the 112th Street facility are non-exempt employees who work three main' shifts: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.; and when they are on call, 3:00 p.m. to midnight. (R. 167, PL’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶¶ 1, 8.) Line technicians could work either as “home garaging” technicians or “home dispatched” technicians. (Id-¶¶ 10-11.) A home garaging line technician volunteers to park his Comcast vehicle at home rather than at Comcast’s garage. (Id-¶ 11.) A home garaging technician begins or ends each work day by driving between his home and a designated reporting location — such as a Comcast home office or meeting location — instead of driving directly to or from a customer’s residence. (Id.) A home dispatched technician volunteers to drive his Comcast vehicle directly between his home and work assignments in the field. (Id.lfil 10, 12.) Home dispatched technicians are paid for the time spent driving between their home and their first assignment, but are not paid for time driving from their last assignment to their home, unless they - are- performing work activities -during the drive. (R. 197, Defs.’ Resp. to PL’s Facts ¶ 8.) According to Comcast’s Vehicle Use Policy, employees who use Comcast vehicles must maintain them in accordance with defined maintenance procedures and must complete a monthly vehicle .inspection report. (R. 167, PL’s Resp. to. Defs.’ Facts ¶ 14.) That responsibility currently includes a requirement that the line technician perform a daily safety check of the vehicle before driving it. (R. 197, Defs.’ Resp. to PL’s Facts ¶¶ 5, 7.) 2. Comcast’s Timekeeping Policies Comcast maintains á number of written policies' that require line technicians to report all time worked and that forbid working off the clock. For example, Comcast employees must acknowledge receipt of an employee handbook which states that: each employee agrees to record accurately all hours actually worked and further. agrees not to misrepresent the hours worked either by overstating the actual hours or understating them. Employees must record, as time worked, any time performing services related to their duties- or otherwise working on behalf of the Company, even if such time is prior to the scheduled shift start or stop time. (R. 167, PL’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 16.) Comcast’s Time Reporting • Guidelines - for home garaging >and home dispatched line technicians instruct them not to perform any work related tasks before logging into the system to start them shift or logging out of the system to end it. (Id-¶ 19.) The guidelines also make clear that if a line technician does perform work related tasks before or after a shift, or if he or she works during a normally unpaid lunch period, he or she must “(i) notify his or her supervisor and (ii) properly record this work time on his/her time sheet.” (Id.) As for what activities constitute compen-sable work, Comcast policies state that work time includes any break lasting 20 minutes or less, noting that a “meal break is not considered time worked if the break lasts at least 30 minutes without interruption for work and you are relieved of all work duties.” (R. 197, Defs.’ Resp. to Pl.’s Facts ¶ 12.) Comcast’s “Getting Paid For Your Work: Time Recording Training for Hourly Employees” document (“Time Recording Training”) states that “working off the clock is strictly prohibited.” (R. 167, Pl.’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶23.) It also instructs line technicians to include the following activities at the beginning of the work day as work time: “[Hogging into the computer and other electronic devices provided by the Company; [ojpening work applications; [pjickmg up work equipment; [and performing safety checks.” (Id.1125.) Similarly, it instructs line technicians to “record the exact time that you stop working at the end of your day,” including as work time “any time spent at the end.of the work day: [Hogging out of the computer and other electronic devices; [c]losing work applications; [and unloading equipment.” (Id.1127.) Time spent retrieving, reading, or listening to work related emails and voice mails or communicating with supervisors, Comcast employees, or customers is included in the definition of work time. (R. 197, Defs.’Resp. to PL’s Facts ¶9.) The Time Recording Training also states that employees should contact human resources if they feel they “are being forced to work off-the-dock,” or alternatively, instructs them .to contact a separate resource called “Comcast. Listens” to report concerns about how they are paid. (R. 167, PL’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶28.) 3. On-Call Policies. The plaintiffs have all worked on-call shifts that can last for up to seven days. (Id.1f 68.) These shifts are assigned on a rotating • basis with each line technician working one week-long on-call - shift approximately every six weeks. (R. 197, Defs.’ Resp. to PL’s Facts ¶ 18.) When on call, line technicians’ regular shifts change to 3:00 p.m. to midnight but they must also be available to respond to any outages in their service areas between the hours of midnight and 7:00 a.m. (R. 186-3, Brand Decl. ¶10.) During on-call shifts, line technicians can be called in to help with network restoration, escalation, and line call repair. (R. 167, PL’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 67.) When line technicians are on call, they are required to be available by phone or Nextel. (Id.H 69.) Although Comcast’s • Greater : Chicago Region CommTech ‘Administration Guide .states that on-call employees “are free to engage in personal activities of their choice,” .it also makes clear that during on-call shifts line technicians “must be able to be contacted and be able to provide a quick and competent response if there is a service problem.” (Id.) Specifically, Comcast’s on-call policy states that called-in employees must report to work.within 30 minutes after they speak with a company representative authorized to call them in and that failing to respond to a communication within a few ■ minutes subjects them to “corrective action.” (R. 197, Defs.’ Resp. to PL’s Facts ¶ 19.) Line technicians are paid $40 per day in standby pay while they are on call, but then they earn additional overtime pay when they are called in from the time they respond to the page until the time they return home,. (R. 167, PL’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶¶ 70-71.) 4. Managers’ Knowledge of Lunch-Break Work. , . The plaintiffs have compiled evidence' of a number of complaints that were made to the managers at the 112th Street facility-regarding ¡technicians working - through lunch breaks starting in 2008. Comcast disputes many of the specifics regarding these complaints, but the following details are undisputed. In October 2008 a service technician (not a line technician) complained to his or her manager that jobs were being issued during the technicians’ lunch breaks. (R. 197, Defs.’ Resp. to PL’s Facts ¶ 20.) In May 2009,. a technician at the 112th Street facility lodged a formal but anonymous complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor complaining that meal periods of 20 minutes or more were not being given to employees working 7.5 hours a day or longer. (IdJ21.) In July 2010, another anonymous complaint was lodged through the Comcast Listens Web Portal stating that technicians at the 112th Street. facility would sometimes work through lunch when their workloads got heavy but that the supervisors would not pay them for working through lunch. ' (Id-¶ 22.) - In June 2012, an employee using the Comcast Listens Helpline lodged a complaint stating that Manager Mark Espinoza was “creating a hostile work environment by having unrealistic expectations.” (IdJ 24.) Specifically, the complaint stated that Espinoza pushed employees to the point of exhaustion, did not compensate them fairly for their work, and refused to compensate them for time spent after they logged in but before they started assisting customers. (Id.) B. Facts Specific to Individual Plaintiffs The following facts address the relevant circumstances that are unique to each individual plaintiff. It should be noted that there are instances in the parties’ Local Rule 56.1 stateménts and responses in which both sides have attempted to dispute the other parties’ facts by pointing to evidence that does not actually contradict the cited fact or by providing their own interpretation of what the fact means. In such instances, or where a fact is otherwise improperly disputed, the court has deemed the fact admitted for purposes of the current motions. See N.D. Ill. Local Rule 56.1. 1. James Brand During at least part of the period relevant to this lawsuit, Brand worked as a home dispatched technician, driving his Comcast vehicle directly from his home to field assignments and back. (R. 167, Brand’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 10.) Brand creates , or receives his daily assignments using a Comcast database- called “Watchtower.” (IdJ 36.) He typically logs into the database at 6:00 a.m. and he testified that the log-in process can last from 20 to 40 minutes. (Id-¶¶ 37-38.) Brand'also performs safety inspections on his Comcast vehicle before the start of his shift, a process that takes between 15 and 20' minutes. (Id-¶¶ 43^4.) As for lunch breaks, Brand testified that he knows he is supposed to take up to a one-hour lunch break every day, but he was only able to take a lunch break “maybe three times a month, if [he] was lucky.” (Id-¶¶ 48-51.) After the end of his shift, Brand secures his Comcast vehicle and takes some equipment into his home for overnight storage, a process that takes “maybe 20 minutes.” (Id-¶¶ 55, 57.) He also spends time logging off his computer at the end of the day, which could take 15 to 20 minutes, sending emails to report the status of his work for the day, and logging his miles. (Id-¶¶ 56, 61, 63.) Brand also worked week-long on-call shifts on a rotating basis. (Id-¶ 68.) Brand was called out during 10 pay periods in 2009, 11 pay periods in 2010, and 8 pay periods in 2011. (R. 197, Defs.’ Resp. to PL’s Facts ¶49.) Between 2009 and 2011, Brand was dispatched for 54.6% of the hours he was on call. (IdJ 49.) According to him, while he was on call he had to stay with his Comcast vehicle, could not have non-Comcast employees in his Com-cast vehicle, was expected to respond to communications regarding an outage within five to ten minutes from receiving the communication, and had to stay in close enough range to his service area that he could complete a job in three hours. (Id. ¶ 51.) Brand testified that while on call he was able to run errands as long as he' did not go so far that he could not respond to a page in a timely manner. (R. 167, Brand’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 72.) Brand testified that supervisors Espino-sa and Dave Johnson advised him not to record time that he worked before the start of his shift. (R. 216, Pl.’s Sur-Reply ¶ 30.) He said that Johnson told him only to record his scheduled hours on his time-sheet. (R. 197, Defs.’ Resp. to PL’s Facts ¶ 35.) Brand further testified that he was instructed to record a one-hour lunch break whether or not he took it. (R. 216, PL’s Sur-Reply ¶ 30.) Brand testified that he told his supervisors that he was unable to take lunch breaks because of his workload. (R. 197, Defs.’ Resp. to PL’s Facts ¶ 41.) According to Brand, he also did not record time spent after 4:30 p.m. (the end of his shift) performing tasks such as safety checks and carrying equipment because he was instructed to record just the hours scheduled. (R. 216, PL’s Sur-Reply ¶ 30.) Brand did concede, however, that he did not believe there was ever a time when he recorded overtime hours but was not paid for it. (R. 167, Brand’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 33.) 2. Barry Farmer During the period relevant to this law;suit,' Farmer has worked both as a home dispatched and a home garaging technician, working a regularly scheduled shift from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. arid a seven-day on-cáll' shift every five weeks. (R. 170, Farmer’s Resp. to Defs. Facts ¶¶9, 11.) When working as a home dispatched line technician, Farmer would log on to his computer as early as 6:00 a.m. (Id-¶¶ 37-38.) It often took him 30 to 40 minutes to get logged into his computer and 10 to 15 minutes -to check his assignments using Watchtower. (Id-¶¶ 39-40.) Before leaving'for a job or the garage, Farmer would inspect his truck for about • 10 minutes, depending on the weather conditions and whether his inspection revealed any problems. (Id-¶¶ 44-45.) When working as a home garaging technician, Farmer would often arrive at. the 112th Street facility between 7:10 and- 7:15 a.m. to download his meter, log into his computer, and to check his assignments before starting his shift. (R. 204, Defs.’ Resp. to Farmer’s Add’l Facts ¶¶ 31-33.) Some days Farmer did not take a lunch break because of his workload and only sometimes when he missed his lunch break would he record it as overtime. (R. 170, Farmer’s Resp. to Defs. Facts ¶ 56.) He' testified that he “couldn’t begin to guess” how much unrecorded time he spent working' through lunch. (Id-¶ 61.) Even when Farmer took a lunch • break, he sometimes spent time during the break looking' at assignments, a task that can take between five and thirty minutes depending óh the situation. (R. 204, Defs.’ Resp'. to Farmer’s Facts ¶ 41.) Farmer testified that at the end of each day he spent five to ten minutes logging off his computer, five to ten minutes securing his equipment, and about ten minutes recording his time. (R. 170,. Farmer’s Resp. to Defs. Facts ¶¶ 68-70.) Farmer sometimes performed these tasks during his shift and sometimes he. performed them, after his shift; ended at 4:30 p.m. (Id-¶ 71.) If these tasks took longer than a half hour he would record that time as overtime and was paid for that time. (Id. ¶¶ 72, 75.) Farmer testified that Espinosa recommended that, he not enter his start time for the day as the time he logged into his computer. (IdJ 54.) He also testified that he told another supervisor, Steve Rembis, that he was- checking assignments during his lunch break... (R. 216, Sur-Reply ¶ 43.) Farmer” testified that during on-call shifts he is- able to watch television, run errands, make home repairs, and spend time with" his kids. ' (6. 17Ó, Farmer’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 80,)' Farmer reported being called out for 37.7% of the total hours he spent on call.’ (R. 204, Defs.’ Resp. to Farmer’s Facts ¶ 50.) 3. Mark Graham ; Graham worked as a home dispatched line technician out of the 112th Street facility from 2003 through 2010, when his employment with Comcast ended. (R. 173, Graham’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 10;, R. 199, Defs.’ Resp. to Graham’s Facts ¶ 31.) Graham worked a regular schedule of Sunday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., throughout his employment with Comcast. (R. .173, Graham’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 9.) Graham chose to dispatch from home “to save a little gas so I don’t have to drive my car to work and back.” (Id-¶ 13.) He testified that he was expected to be at his first job of the day by 8:00 a.m. (R. 199, Defs.’ Resp. to Graham’s Add’l Facts ¶ 32.) Graham testified that he logged into his Comcast laptop between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. each work day to pick up jobs for the start of his shift. (R. 173, Graham’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 32.) The process of logging in and choosing his jobs took him 15 to 20 minutes, but Graham did not. record that time on his time sheets. (Id.1ffl34-35.) Graham also spent 10 to 15 minutes before the start of his shift inspecting his truck. (Id-¶ 36.) He did not record that time on his timesheets either. (IdJ37.) Although Graham was entitled to a one-hour lunch each day, whether he took lunch depended on his workload. (Id. ¶¶47, 50-51.) . He estimates that he worked through lunch three days a week. (R. 199, Defs.’ Resp. to Graham’s Add’l Facts ¶ 37.) He testified that he did not record the time he worked through lunch because he knew someone who had done so and was “beat up” for it. (Id-¶¶ 40, 41.) After the end of his shift, Graham spent about 10 to 15 minutes securing his vehicle but did not record that time on his time sheets. (R. 173, Graham’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶¶ 53-55.) As for his on-call shifts, Graham understood Comcast’s policy to be that he had five minutes to respond to a communication to avoid being disciplined. (R. 199, Defs.’ Resp. to Graham’s Add’l Facts ¶ 49.) Graham testified that he believed that Espinosa was “cheating [him] on time.” (R. 173, Graham’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 38.) He also testified that Espinosa did not give him any direct instructions on entering pre-shift time on his time sheets, but he received instructions from his supervisor Johnson.. (IdA 41.) Graham testified that Johnson told him to record on his time sheet 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., unless he worked overtime, which he understood to mean “[a]ny time that’s not your normal working time.” (Id-¶¶ 42-43.) Even though Graham had complained about other workplace .issues, he never complained to his supervisor, manager, Comcast’s Human Resources Department, or through Comcast Listens, about not being paid for all of the time he had worked. (Id-¶ 31.) 4. Kevin Jackson During his on-going tenure as a line technician with Comcast, Kevin Jackson has worked a 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. shift in both the home garaging and home dispatched roles. (R. 176, K. Jackson’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶¶ 1, 7, 10.) When he was home dispatched, Jackson “pretty much always” worked as a lead. technician, for which he received an additional $40 per day above his regular pay. (Id.Hlf 9, 33.) While he was home dispatched, Jackson would log into his computer between 6:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. each work day to check assignments and-to. assign jobs to other line technicians. (Id-¶¶ 34-35.) The log-in process could take between 20 and 40 minutes. (R. 206, Defs.’ Resp. to K. Jackson’s Add’l Facts ¶ 36.) . At the beginning of his work day, Jackson also conducted a “circle of safety” inspection on his Comcast vehicle and completed mileage forms. (R. 176, K. Jackson’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶41.) The amount of time the. circle-of-safety inspection and inventory cheeks took him varied, but they could take between five and thirty minutes to complete. (R. 206, Defs.’ Resp. to K. Jackson’s Add’l Facts ¶ 34.) Jackson testified that he asked Es-pinosa if he could record the extra time he spent working pre-shift and Espinosa told him to record his start tihie as 7:30 a.m. (Id.H 40.) As for lunch-break and post-shift work, Jackson testified that whether he worked through part or all of his one-hour lunch break depended on the day and his workload. (R. 176, K. Jackson’s Resp..to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 46.) He estimates that before he went through the Employee Self Service (“ESS”) training in July 2013, his lunches were interrupted 70 to- 75 percent of the time. (Id-¶¶ 57-58.) • As a lead technician, he took calls from other line technicians during-his lunch. (R. 206, Defs.’ Resp. to K Jackson’s Add’l Facts ¶33.) Jackson testified that nine times out of ten when he worked through lunch he told his supervisors about it. (IdJ46.) When Jackson returned home after a shift, he spent five to seven minutes securing his vehicle and putting equipment away. (R. 176, K. Jackson’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶¶'61,-63.) On occasion he spent a half hour to an hour performing tasks post-shift in his role as lead technician. (R. 206, Defs.’ Resp. to K. Jackson’s Add’l Facts ¶ 50.) Jackson testified that he feels “like a prisoner” during on-call shifts because he •has to “sleep light” in case a call comes in and because working from 3:00 p.m. until midnight before going on-call until 7:30 a.m. prevented him from seeing his children. (R. Í76, K. Jackson’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶¶ 69, 72-73.) Jackson reported being called but for 12.5% of the total hours he spent on call during the relevant period. (R. 206, Defs.’ Resp. to K. Jackson’s Add’l Facts ¶ 56.) 5. Michael Jackson Michael Jackson has worked as a liné technician! for Comcast since 2009, working a regular schedule of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. (R. Í79, M. Jackson’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶¶ 1, 6.) He worked as a home dispatched technician from 2009 until “maybe 2011,” and has worked as a home garaging technician out of the 112th Street facility since then. (Id. ¶ 7.) Jackson testified that he usually logs into his computer between 6:20 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. each work day because it can take 20 to 30 minutes to boot >up the computer - and review his assignments on Watchtower. (Id-¶¶ 30-31.) He also spends 20 to 25 minutes performing a vehicle inspection before the start of his shift. (Id.K 36.) Jackson testified that he typically emails and texts during his lunch breaks. (Id.H 48.) If he receives a message about an outage, he has to respond to the communication within five to ten minutes. (Id.1t 49.) After his shift ends, Jackson spends 20 to 25 minutes securing his equipment, inspecting his vehicle, and taking equipment inside his house. (Id.1fll 56-57.) Jackson testified that he works a seven-day on-call shift every - eight weeks. (Id. ¶ 65.) His understanding of his responsibility while on call is that he is required to respond to a text message within 30 minutes and must resolve the outage within 90 minutes. (Id.11 69.) He testified that in theory an on-call employee could watch television, spend time with family, read, watch ball 'games, go to the grocery store, and run quick errands. (Id.1I 72.) Jackson reported being called out for about 41% of all of the hours he spent on call. (R. 195, Defs.’ Resp. to M. Jackson’s Add’l Facts ¶ 48.) Jackson testified that after attending a November 2011 ESS training about pay, he and other technicians attended a meeting with Espinosa in which they said they should be getting paid for the time they spend turning on their computers. According to Jackson, Espinosa said, “I advise you guys not to do that.” (R. 179, M. Jackson’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts 1139.) Jackson also testified that at that meeting “[w]e were told not to put the time down for performing [the pre-shift] work.” ' (R. 216, Sur-Reply ¶¶36, 38.) After that meeting, Jackson did not. try to record time he spent working pre-shift or time he spent monitoring texts and emails during lunch. (R. 179, M. Jackson’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶¶ 42, 52.) 6. Jose Vigil At all relevant times Jose Vigil has worked as a line technician for Comcast on a Tuesday to Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. schedule. (R. 182, Vigil’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶¶ 1, - 8.) Originally Vigil worked as a home dispatched technician, but starting in February 2013 he began working as a home garaging technician. (Id.li 9.) While working as a home garaging technician, Vigil would typically arrive at the 112th Street facility around 6:10 a.m. (R. 202, Defs.’ Resp. to Vigil’s Add’l Facts ¶32.) Vigil testified that before the" 7:30 a.m. start of his shift, he spends about 10 to 15 minutes turning on his computer and entering his time and then monitors Watchtower to see how many jobs are available. (R. 182, Vigil’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶¶ 33-34, 36-37.) He does not record the time he spends monitoring Watchtower. (IdJ39.) Vigil also spends approximately 10 minutes synchronizing his meter with his supervisor’s computer before his shift starts. (Id.1t 42.) He does not record that time either. (Id.lf 43.) He also spends “maybe a half hour” of unreported time completing a pre-shift vehicle inspection. (Id.UlI 44-45.) As for lunch breaks, Vigil testified that prior to December 2012 or February 2013, he worked through lunch. (Id.li 50.) At the end of his shift, Vigil spends about 30 minutes putting away his equipment and sending an email describing the day’s job. (Id. ¶ 64.) Even if he completes those activities' after 4:30 p.m. he does not record the time as overtime because his supervisors push too much for the technicians to stay on a 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. schedule. (Id. ¶¶ 67-68.) Vigil is required to work a seven-day on-call shift approximately every four to six weeks. (R. 202, Defs.’ Resp. to Vigil’s Add’l Facts 1t-52.) Vigil reported being called out for about 45% of the hours he spent on ■ call. (R. 204-4, Defs.’ Resp. to Farmer’s Add’l Facts Ex. C, DiGiovanni Decl. ¶ 8.) Sometime between December 2012 and February 2018, Espinosa called Vigil and told him he noticed that Vigil was recording nine straight hours of work, and instructed him to stop and take his lunch. (R. 182, Vigil’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 54.) Starting around then, Vigil would monitor Watchtower during his lunch break and if he saw an outage in his area, he would call his supervisor to find out whether he should suspend his lunch and address it. (Id.U 59-63.) 7. Chris Woodard Chris Woodard worked as a home garaging Comcast line technician starting in August 2011, (R. 185, Woodard Resp, to Defs.’ Facts U l, 10.) Woodard testified that he was required to arrive at the 112th Street facility by 7:30 a.m. to start his shift, but he would conduct “pre-trip” vehicle inspections required by the Department of Transportation before leaving in the morning. (IcLU 30-32.) He would also log into Watchtower, a process that took between 20 to 30 minutes. (Id.U 33-34.) He was never told to log in before his shift started. (IdJ 38.) Woodard testified that most of the time he took a lunch break and that he was paid for time he worked through lunch if he recorded it. (Id.U 42-43, 45.) There were times Woodard worked through lunch without recording his time because-he was told not to skip his lunch and there were times he could not leave the customer for a lunch break. (IdJ 46.) If he received a communication about an outage in his area during a lunch break, Woodard would respond to the outage and then restart his lunch after it was resolved. (IdJ 48.) It took him “[m]aybe a minute” to review his messages during his lunch break. (IdJ 50.) ■ Woodard never told anyone that he was working through lunch and not recording it. (Id. ¶ 52.) Woodard also spent five to ten minutes after the end of a -shift securing his truck, shutting down his laptop, and putting equipment away. (Id.U 55-58.) He said that he would spend 15 to-20 minutes dropping off bad equipment.at the 112th Street facility after his shift ended. (R. 208, Defs.’ Resp. to Woodard’s Add’l Facts ¶ 42.) Woodard worked a seven-day on-call shift on a “normal rotation”, every month or a month and a half, but he was sometimes asked -to volunteer for extra call shifts. (R. 185, Woodard Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 61.).. Woodard ran personal errands in his Comcast vehicle while he was on call. (IdJ 65.) He often skipped church services while on call because he did not know whether he would be called in." (IdJ 71.) He also said that he had to have his cell phone with him at all times while on call and that he would keep his laptop on while on call at home to monitor the system. (R. 208; Defs.’ Resp. to Woodard’s Add’l Facts ¶51.) Woodard was called out for approximately 42.9% of the on-call hours he worked from the period between August 2011 and February 2013. (IdJ 50.) He was called out more than once a day on nine of the thirty-nine days that he was called out. (IdJ 49.) Woodard testified that he brought up with his supervisors in at least three meetings whether it would be permissible for him to record the time he spent before the start of .his shift, but they told him not to do so. (IdJ 31.) According to Woodard, they told him to record his start time as 7:30 a.m. (IdJ 34.) Woodard also testified that he complained to his managers that they were logging him out while he was still on the job, but they responded that they only had a certain amount of overtime to authorize. (IdJ 44.) Analysis This court will grant summary judgment only where the moving party shows that “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled-to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Where the moving party meets its burden of pointing to materials that “it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact,” the responding party must point to “specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323-24,106 S.Ct. 2548. Although the facts will be reviewed in the light most favorable to- the non-moving party, see Kellar v. Summit Seating Inc., 664 F.3d 169, 173 (7th Cir.2011), the “mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the [non-movant’s] position” is insufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment, Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Instead, to overcome a well-supported motion for summary judgment, there must be a genuine dispute over facts from which a reasonable jury could find in the plaintiffs’ favor. See id. at 247-48, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The plaintiffs seek to proceed to trial on their claims that- Comcast violated the FLSA and IMWL by failing to pay them overtime wages for time they spent working before their shifts started, during what would otherwise be a lunch break, after their shifts ended, and while waiting to be called in-during on-call shifts.- Both the FLSA and the IMWL require employers to pay their non-exempt employees one and one-half times their regular hourly wage for hours spent working beyond 40 hours in one week. 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1); 820 ILCS § 105/4a(l). The parties agree that the IMWL parallels the FLSA and so the same analysis applies to both claims. See Villareal v. El Chile, Inc., 776 F.Supp.2d 778, 784 (N.D.Ill.2011). The plaintiffs bear the burden of proving that they performed overtime work for which they were not properly compensated. See Kellar, 664 F.3d at 173. A. The On-Call Claims Comcast’s assertion that it is entitled to summary judgment with respect to the plaintiffs’ on-call claims is the most straight forward of its arguments from a factual perspective, so the court will begin there. ' Comcast argues that because -it places no restrictions on how line technicians spend their time during on-call shifts — other than to require them to remain sober and to respond to calls to repair outages within 30 minutes — that time is not compensable as working time under either the FLSA or IMWL. All of the plaintiffs respond by arguing-that the frequency with which they are called to jobs during on-call shifts, coupled with the call response time requirements and the threat that they could be forced to undergo drug and alcohol screenings while on call, means that they are unable to use their time effectively for personal pursuits. Accordingly, the plaintiffs argue that the undisputed facts show that they are entitled to their regular or' overtime compensation for all of the hours they spend on call. ' Under certain circumstances, time spent waiting to work while on call may constitute working time under the FLSA. See Armour & Co. v. Wantock, 323 U.S. 126, 133, 65 S.Ct. 165, 89 L.Ed. 118 (1944). Whether time spent on call is compensable as work under the FLSA turns on whether the employee is “engaged to wait” or is “waiting to be engaged.” See Binges v. Sacred Heart St. Mary’s Hosps., Inc., 164 F.3d 1056, 1056-57 (7th Cir.1999) (citing Armour, 323 U.S. 126, 65 S.Ct. 165, 89 L.Ed. 118 & Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S. 134, 65 S.Ct. 161, 89 L.Ed. 124 (1944)). The Labor Department has codified the-concept as follows: [a]n employee who is required to remain on call on the employer’s premises or so close thereto that he cannot’use the time effectively for his own purposes is working while ‘on call.’ An employee who is not required to remain on the employer’s premises but is merely required to leave word at his home or with company officials where he may be reached is not working while on call. 29 C.F.R. § 785.17; see also Jonites v. Exelon Corp., 522 F.3d 721, 723 (7th Cir.2008). There is no one legal formula that dictates whether waiting time is compensable, see Skidmore, 323 U.S. at 136, 65 S.Ct. 161, but courts have looked to a number of factors to help settle the question, including the following: whether the employee’s movements were subject to excessive geographical restrictions; whether the frequency of call-ins created undue restrictions; whether there was a fixed timeframe for responding to a call; and whether the employee actually engaged in personal activities while on call. Cleary v. ADM Milling Co., 827 F.Supp. 472, 475 (N.D.Ill.1993). At the end of the day, whether time spent on call is compensable hinges on the on-call employee’s freedom to devote his time effectively “to the ordinary activities of private life.” See Dinges, 164 F.3d at 1057; Bright v. Houston Nw. Med. Ctr. Survivor, Inc., 934 F.2d 671, 677 (5th Cir.1991) (en banc). Here, the plaintiffs all argue that the speed with which they had to respond to a page (approximately five to. ten minutes) and the thirty-minute window to report to work after responding to a page, together with the requirement that they stay with their Comcast vehicle during on-call shifts, severely restrict their ability to engage in personal activities. But courts have found similar conditions insufficient to demon- strate the compensability of on-call time. For example, in Dinges, the plaintiff emergency:-medical technicians were required while op call to arrive at the hospital within seven minutes of receiving, a page. 164 F.3d at 1057. That restriction prevented on-call employees from attending holidays with relatives, engaging in out-of-town leisure -activities, or running errands outside á seven-mile radius from the hospital. Id. Despite those restrictions, because the plaintiffs had less than, a 50% chance of being called in during each on-call shift and they could still sleep,, care for family members, and attend local events, the court concluded that their on-call time was not work time. Id. at 1058-59. Similarly, in Bright, the plaintiff was required to remain reáchable by beeper and to stay within a 20-minute radius of his employer while on-call. 934 F.2d at 673. Likewise, the Eighth Circuit determined that such restrictions did not prevent the plaintiff from effectively using his on-call time for his own purposes even though he would have been able to do more things had the on-call restrictions been more forgiving. Id. at 678. In Birdwell v. City of Gadsden, Ala., 970 F.2d 802, 807 (11th Cir. 1992), plaintiff police officers sought compensation for a one-week period in which they were required to be immediately reachable for .a call-in to respond to a workers’ strike. The officers presented evidence that although they could leave their homes, they could not leave town, go on vacation, participate in outdoor activities, or go anywhere with family members without driving two cars. Id. at 808. The Eleventh Circuit held that these restrictions on the officers’ free time were insufficiently severe to treat the on-call time as work time, because they “could do anything they normally did so long as they were able to respond to a call promptly and sober.” Id. at 810. The undisputed facts here show that the limitations on the plaintiffs during their on-call shifts were no more restrictive than those placed on the plaintiffs in Dinges, Bright, or Birdwell. Although Comcast policy required that the plaintiffs respond to an outage within 30 minutes of communicating with Comcast regarding the outage, that limitation is significantly more forgiving than the 7-minute reaction time the Seventh Circuit concluded was insufficient to convert waiting time into working time in Dinges. Several plaintiffs testified that being on call disturbed their regular routine, but the test is whether they could conduct normal activities of private life while on call, not whether they could do so without any inconvenience or in the precise way they do outside of their on-call shifts. See Bright, 934 F.2d at 677 (noting that employee need not “have substantially the-same flexibility or freedom as he would if not on call, else all or almost all on-call time would be working time, a proposition that the settled case law and the administrative guidelines clearly reject”). ,For example, Michael Jackson complains that because he works from three p.m. until midnight while he is on call, he is unable to see his children because they do not get home from school until after three. But that is a complaint about the inconvenience involved in his particular schedule, not about the restrictions placed on him during what would otherwise be downtime. Significantly, several of the plaintiffs testified that they are able to sleep, watch television, spend time with friends or family, shop for groceries, run errands, or make home repairs while waiting to be called in during on-call shifts. (See, e.g., R. 167, Brand’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 74; R. 170, Farmer’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts. ¶ SO; R. 179, M. Jackson’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ¶ 72 (agreeing that he could do these types of activities at least in theory while on call); R. 185, Woodard’s Resp. to Defs.’ Facts ■ ¶ 65.) That testimony belies a finding that the plaintiffs’ free.time while on call was so severely restricted that it constituted work time for purposes of the FLSA. See Aiken v. City of Memphis, Tenn., 190 F.3d 753, 760 (6th Cir.1999). The plaintiffs also rely heavily on the frequency with which they were called in during on-call shifts to support their assertion that they are unable to use their time effectively to engage in personal pursuits while on call. In Dinges, the Seventh Circuit found significant the fact that the plaintiffs were called in during fewer than 50% of their on-call shifts .in concluding that their wait time was not compensable. 164 F.3d at 1058. Here, the plaintiffs have not provided clear evidence regarding the percentage of days on which they were on call that they were called in to work. There is evidence, however, that on the days they were called in the plaintiffs were typically only called in once. (See, e.g., R. 208, Defs.’ Resp. to Woodard’s Add’l Facts IT 49; R. 186-20, Pis.’ Ex. 20, Comcast Wage Doe. 00042586.) That fact “mitigates against a conclusion that the on-call time was spent predominantly for the benefit” of Comcast. See Reimer v. Champion Healthcare Corp., 258 F.3d 720, 725 (8th Cir.2001); compare with Renfro v. City of Emporia, Kan., 948 F.2d 1529, 1532, 1537-38 (10th Cir.1991) (frequency of callbacks suggested on-call time compensa-ble where plaintiff firefighters called back on average between three and five times and sometimes thirteen times per shift). Additionally, Comcast has submitted evidence, which the plaintiffs have not disputed, (see supra pg. 10 n.2), showing the following with respect to the percentage of hours that the plaintiffs worked during their on-call shifts: Plaintiff Percentage of On-Call Shift Hours Called In James Brand 54.6 Barry Farmer 37,7 Kevin Jackson 12.5 Michael Jackson 40.3 Jose Vigil 45.1 Christopher Woodard 42.9 [Editor’s Note: The preceding image contains the reference for footnote], (R. 204-4, Defs.’ Resp. to Farmer’s Facts Ex. C, DiGiovanni Decl. ¶8.) Thus, the only plaintiff who worked more than half of the time he spent on call was Brand, and he worked just over 50% of his on-call time. But even the proportion of hours the plaintiffs spent working while on call here is insufficient to trump the other factors pointing clearly to the conclusion that the plaintiffs could do as they saw fit with their on-call time. As a point of comparison, in Jonites the employer required off-duty employees (riot just on-call employees) to be reachable by phone at all times to respond to emergency calls and disciplined employees who failed to answer more than 50 percent of the calls or to accept more than 35 percent of the call outs. 522 F.3d at 722. That requirement forced the employees to stay within a two-hour radius of their normal duty station and prevented anyone whose response rate was near the floor from leaving town, even while off duty, without using vacation time. Id. at 724. Despite the fact that the employer’s policy essentially kept employees tethered to their phones or beepers at all times, the Jonites court found the ensuing hardships insufficient to turn their off time into working time. Id. Here, the plaintiffs only had travel restrictions during their one-week on-call shifts, which they rotated through approximately every six weeks. Accordingly,. • the frequency ' -with which they were subject to the inconveniences inherent in -being on call is insufficient to push their- on-call- claims beyond the sumi-mary judgment stage. Finally, the plaintiffs argue that their on-call shifts were unduly restrictive because “at any moment” during those shifts they' could “be involuntarily transported and drug and alcohol tested any time they were ‘on call.’ ” (R. 165, Brand Resp. Mem. at 14 (emphasis in original).) Courts have routinely held that on-call rules including a requirement that employees remain sober are insufficiently restrictive to convert their on-call time to work time. See, e.g., Reimer, 258 F.3d at 725; Dinges, 164 F.3d at 1057; Bright, 934 F.2d at 673; Birdwell, 970 F.2d at 808. Additionally, here' all of the plaintiffs cite the same set of undisputed facts to suggest that they are subject to random drug and alcohol tests at any time during their on-call period. 'Those facts show that on a singlé occasion, a Comcast line technician was removed from' a bar and grill and subjected to drug and alcohol testing by managers who saw his Comcast truck parked outside and suspected he had been drinking. (R. 197, Defs.’ Resp. to Brand’s Add’l Facts ¶ 52'.) . Comcast policies prohibit line technicians from, driving after consuming alcohol. (Id.) None of the plaintiffs submit any evidence that they or any other line technician has been brought in for alcohol or drug testing randomly or absent a manager’s suspicion that the employee was about to drive a Comcast vehicle after drinking. Accordingly, they have not shown that there is anything different about Comcast’s requirement that they remain sober-while on call from the cases finding such restrictions insufficient to transform omcall time into - work time. For all of these reasons, the court* concludes that Comcast is entitled to summary judgment with respect -to the plaintiffs’ claims for on-call compensation.- B. Pre-Shift and Post-Shift Activities , Comcast also, seeks summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ claims that they are entitled to overtime compensation for the time they spent or. spend engaged in certain activities before the beginning and after the end, of their regular.shifts. According to Comcast, the .plaintiffs’ claims are barred by the , Portal-to-Portal Act (“PPA”), 29 U.S.C. § 254, as amended by the Employee Commuting Flexibility Act of 1996 (“ECFA”), 29 U.S.C. § 254(a), because all of the pre- and post-shift activities for-which they-seek compensation are, according to Comcast, activities which are incidental to the use of Comcast’s vehiples for commuting. The plaintiffs argue that their pre- and post-shift activities, are com-pensable regardless of the ECFA because, they say, those activities are indispensable and integral to their principal activities, or alternatively, because Comcast has established a custom or.practice of compensating line technicians for such activities. For the following reasons, this court concludes that Comcast is entitled to summary judgment with respect to the pre-shift and post-shift claims. 1. Incidental versus Indispensable Activities Under the PPA The plaintiffs seek compensation for unrecorded time they spent before and after their shifts logging into their computers, obtaining and reviewing assignments electronically, conducting vehicle inspections, and loading, unloading, or securing equipment in and from their Comcast vehicles. The PPA narrowed the scope of employer liability under the FLSA by excepting from coverage two activities that previously had been treated as compensa-ble: “(1) walking, riding, or traveling to and from the actual place of performance of the principal activity or activities which such employee is employed to perform, and (2) activities which are preliminary to or postliminary to said principal activity or activities.” See 29 U.S.C. § 254(a). Although the PPA did not define “principal activity,” the Supreme Court has interpreted the term to embrace “all activities which are an integral and indispensable part of the principal activities.” See Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, — U.S. —7-, 135 S.Ct. 513, 517, 190 L,Ed.2d .410 (2014) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). In 1996, Congress amended the PPA by passing the ECFA, which clarifies the rules regarding payment for time employees spend using employer-provided vehicles for their commute. See H.R.Rep. No. 104-585, at 2 (1996). The ECFA excludes payment for the time an employee spends commuting and engaged in activities that are incidental to commuting: the use of an employer’s vehicle for travel by an employee and activities performed by an employee which are incidental to the use of such vehicle for commuting shall not be considered part of the employee’s principal activities if the use of such vehicle for travel is within the normal commuting area for the employer’s business or establishment and the use of the employer’s vehicle is subject- to an.agreement on the part of the employer and the employee or representative of such employee. 29 U.S.C. § 254(a). Thus, as amended by the ECFA, the-PPA carves out from the FLSA time employees spend engaged in activities that are incidental to their use of a company vehicle,, as long as the employees’. use of the' vehicle is subject to an agreement with the employer and the vehicle is used for travel within the normal commuting area for the employer’s business. Id., see also Rutti v. Lojack Corp., 596 F.3d 1046, 1052 (9th Cir.2010). In other words, if activities , are “integral and indispensable” to the employees’ principal activities, then they are compensable, but if, on the other hand, they are “incidental” to the use of a company vehicle for commuting, they are not, See Chambers v. Sears Roebuck & .Co., 428 Fed.Appx. 400, 414 (5th. Cir,2011). There is. no dispute here that in their capacities as home dispatched or home garaging line technicians the plaintiffs used their Comcast vehicles within a normal, commuting area and subject to an agreement with Comcast. The parties disagree, however, over whether the pre- and post-shift activities underlying their FLSA claims are incidental to their use of those Comcast vehicles for commuting, or are, as the plaintiffs argue, integral and indispens-. able to their principal activities as line technicians. Comcast argues that all of the activities described by the plaintiffs are carved out of the FLSA’s compensation requirements by the ECFA because, they say, those activities are incidental to the plaintiffs’ commute driving a Comcast-issued vehicle. See 29 U.S.C, § 254(a). Although the ECFA does not define the term “incidental,” its legislative history provides some guidance. The House Report acknowledges that it “is not possible to define in all circumstances what specific tasks and activities would be considered ‘incidental’ to the use of an employer’s vehicle for commuting.” H.R.Rep. No. 104-585, at 5 (1996). But it makes clear that “[c]ommunication between the employee and employer to receive assignments or instructions, or to transmit advice on work progress or completion, as well as “routine, vehicle safety inspections or other minor tasks” are included among the incidental activities which are not com-pensable under the ECFA. Id. " Courts that have wrestled with the task of separating incidental activities . from compensable, ones in this context haye repeatedly placed .activities like those described by the plaintiffs into the category of activities that are incidental to the employees’ commute. In Chambers, for example, the plaintiffs sought compensation for time .spent logging into a device to learn their first assignment, carrying the device to their company vehicle and plugging it . in before driving to their first service call,-unplugging the device and transporting it to their houses from the van at the end of the day, and plugging it in to upload information regarding the current day’s stops and the next day’s assignment. 428 Fed.Appx. at 415-17. Noting that the House Report to the ECFA included communications to receive assignments as among the activities that are incidental to a commute, the court concluded that the activities the plaintiffs described all “relate to the employee’s commute,” and thus are non-compensáble under the ECFA. Id. at 417; see also Donatti v. Charter Commc’ns, LLC, 950 F.Supp.2d 1038, 1053 (W.D.Mo.2013) (finding time spent carrying equipment between company vehicles and the employees’ homes incidental to commute). Similarly, in Rutti 596 F.3d at 1057, the Ninth Circuit concluded that time a car alarm technician spent before his shift “receiving, mapping, -and' prioritizing jobs and routes for assignment” was incidental to his commute rather than inte-, gral to his principal activities. As another court reasoned, checking assignments early enough to ensure that the employee allots sufficient time for his commute to his first job is “by its very nature” incidental to the employee’s use of a company vehicle. Donatti, 950 F.Supp.2d at 1054. Courts have also held that cleaning, maintaining, and performing routine safety-inspections of company vehicles are activities that should be considered incidental to the employee’s use of a company vehicle. See, e.g., Aiken, 190 F.3d at 759 (finding tasks involved - in keeping vehicles clean and scheduling maintenance incidental to commute); Butler v. DirectSAT USA, LLC, 55 F.Supp.3d 793, 807-09 (D.Md.2014) (finding time spent reading emails regarding schedule, prioritizing routes, or maintaining vehicle not compensable); Donatti 950 F.Supp.2d at 1053 (finding time spent quickly inspecting company vehicle and removing and replacing hazard cones from around the vehicle incidental to commute). The pre- and post-shift tasks for which the individual plaintiffs seek compensation here are. remarkably similar to those found to be incidental to the employees’ commute in. the cases discussed above. The plaintiffs all described their pre- and post-shift activities in similar terms. .For example, in discussing their pre-shift claims, all of the plaintiffs described turning on their computers and logging in at least a half hour before the start of their .shifts for. the purpose of reviewing or obtaining their assignments for the day. They also testified that they spent-anywhere from five minutes (Kevin Jackson) to thirty minutes (Vigil) performing safety inspections of their Comcast vehicle before the start' of their shifts. These kinds of routine tasks related to obtaining assignments electronically and performing vehicle safety inspections are inherently incidental to the plaintiffs’ choice to use Comcast vehicles as their method of- commuting. See, e.g., Rutti, 596 F.3d at 1057. As for post-shift activities, all of the plaintiffs described spending time securing' their Comcast vehicles and putting away equipment for safekeeping. That process took them anywhere from five to thirty minutes, ‘ depending on the line technician and the day, although Farmer and Vigil both testified that they sometimes perform these -tasks before their shift ends. Additionally, Brand, Farmer, and Vigil testified that they sometimes spend time at or after the end of them shift sending emails, logging miles or recording time, and logging out "of their computers. But time Spent communicating with a supervisor to report on a last service call or uploading information about the day’s work are the kinds of communications incidental to a commute that the ECFA carves out. See Buzek v. Pepsi Bottling Grp., Inc., 501 F.Supp.2d 876, 877, 883 (S.D.Tex.2007). In their response,, the plaintiffs fail to explain why the tasks they identify here are qualitatively different than the kinds of pre- and post-shift tasks that many courts have found to be incidental to the use of a company vehicle. Instead of acknowledging or distinguishing the case law suggesting that the pre- and post-shift activities the plaintiffs describe here should be categorized as incidental to their commute under the ECFA, the plaintiffs rely entirely on the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Integrity Staffing to argue that these activities are integral and indispensable to their principal activities as line technicians. (See, e.g., R. 165, Brand Resp. Mem. at 12-13.) But Integrity Staffing has nothing to do with tasks related to commuting in a company vehicle. Instead, Integrity Staffing addresses the question of whether the 25 minutes plaintiff warehouse employees spent waiting for and undergoing security screenings at the end. of their shifts is compensable under the FLSA. Id. at 515. The employees argued that this time was “solely for the benefit of the employers and' their customers” and therefore was indispensable to their principal activities as warehouse workers. Id. at 515-16. The Supreme Court rejected that argument, and concluded that the security screenings were “noncompensable postliminary activities.” Id. at 518. The Supreme Court made clear that the test for whether an activity is indispensable to a principal activity does not focus on “whether an employer required a particular activity.” Id. at 519 (emphasis in original). ■ Instead, “an activity is integral and indispensable to the principal activities that an employee is employed to perform — and thus compensable under the FLSA — if it is an intrinsic element of those activities and one with which the employee cannot dispense if he is to perform his principal activities.” Id. Here, the plaintiffs assert that Integrity Staffing supports their pre- ’and post-shift claims because they could not have performed their job duties as line technicians without performing tasks like logging in to obtain assignments, performing vehicle checks, and securing their equipment. But that argument is a non-starter because Integrity Staffing does not deal with the ECFA. To suggest that an activity can be incidental to a commute under the ECFA but still be compensable because it is integral to a principal activity would render the ECFA meaningless. Cham-, bers, 428 FedAppx. at 414 n. 38; Buzek, 501 F.Supp.2d at 885 (noting that cases not involving employee commutes are not “on point” in determining whether commute-related activities are compensable). Even putting aside that the discussion in Integrity Staffing does not relate to the ECFA, the plaintiffs have provided no argument to support their assertion that a fine technician could not dispense .with the relevant tasks and'still perform their job. It is clear that Comcast required these tasks, and that they were necessary by-products of the plaintiffs’ use of Comcast vehicles in the course of their comniute. But that is not the same as demonstrating that they are indispensable activities to the work Comcast employs them to perform —