Tony Moncus (Moncus) worked cutting logs for Billingsley Logging (Billingsley). The owner, Mitchell Billingsley (Mitchell), had the entire logging crew meet at a centrally located service station one morning so he could lead them to a new location they could not find on their own. This was standard practice when starting work on a new tract and occurred a few times each year. Moncus had to drive his own vehicle that day and not ride with the others on a company truck because he had to leave early to run a personal errand. Moncus was killed in a head-on motor vehicle accident before arriving at the logging site. His vehicle contained no tools or equipment belonging to Billingsley. Since he was paid based on the number of tons of wood that he cut, Moncus was paid nothing on the day of his death because he had not yet cut any wood.

A claim was filed for workers' compensation benefits on behalf of Moncus. The administrative law judge (ALJ) held that Moncus did not sustain a compensable fatal injury due to his not performing an employment-related service at the time of the accident. The ALJ found that the preponderance of evidence disproved the death resulting from an injury compensable under the Workers Compensation Act. The Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission (Commission) affirmed and adopted the ALJ's decision. This was based on the "coming and going" rule that ordinarily precludes recovery for an injury sustained while the claimant is going to or returning from work. The rationale behind the rule is that the claimant is not within the scope of his employment while traveling to and from his job and is subject to the recognized hazards of travel to and from work in a vehicle. The rule is subject to exceptions in cases where the employee is injured when in close proximity to the employer's premises, where the employer furnishes the transportation, where the employee is a traveling salesperson, where the employee is injured on a special mission or errand or when the employee is paid from the moment he leaves home until he returns home.

The appellant acknowledged the "coming and going" rule but argued that the day in question was not a normal workday because the employees were ordered to meet Mitchell and follow him to the tract. It was asserted that Moncus was performing employment-related services when he was killed driving to the job site because of Mitchell's orders and that Billingsley would have benefited because the day's business could be conducted successfully.

The rationale of the ALJ, adopted by the Commission, was that Moncus was not performing an employment-related service at the time of the accident. Employees of Billingsley were ordinarily required to provide their own transportation to and from the logging tracts of land. Meeting at a central location to drive to a new tract occurred regularly, although infrequently. It was determined that such meetings and driving to a new tract as a group did not advance Billingsley's purpose or interest on those days any more than any other day when employees traveled to the logging tract on their own. While meeting in this manner was not customary, it was done at least a few times each year when commencing work at a new site. In either case, Moncus was required to travel to the actual job site where his work would begin and this case did not fall into one of the recognized exceptions to the "coming and going" rule. For these reasons, the claim was not compensable. The court of appeals affirmed the decision of the ALJ.

Tony Moncus, Deceased, Appellant v. Billingsley Logging and American Interstate Insurance Company, Appellees. No CA 05-264. 93 Ark. App 402, 219 S.W. 3d 680.