Refusing to use a private vehicle can be a legally valid excuse if there is no reimbursement or the task falls outside the agreedupon scope. The use of privately-owned automobiles for approved work is permissible provided it is done during the course of the employee's scheduled hours of work.Are your employees using their personal vehicles for workrelated purposes? In California, employers are required to fully reimburse you when you use your personal vehicles for business purposes. Understand employer liability for employee car accidents in California. Under Section 2082 in California, employers have essential obligations to fulfill when employees use personal vehicles for work. In California, employers are required to fully reimburse you when you use your personal vehicles for business purposes. Spelling out that they must buy personal auto insurance with certain minimum limits. So, when an employer tells the employee to perform an action (drive), it's as if the employer itself performed that action.