In Bobo v. United States (37 Fed Cl 690, affd 136 F3d 1465), border patrol agent dog handlers employed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service were compelled to use Federal vehicles in commuting to and from work with their assigned canines. The court reviewed existing case law and regulatory policy with regard to the compensability of work activities allegedly performed during the agent's commute and, importantly, directly addressed the applicability of the 1996 amendment to section 254 (a) in those circumstances where there exists no understanding or agreement between the employee and employer. Finding the amendment inapplicable in the absence of some agreement between the parties relative to the compensability of tasks performed while commuting, the court determined that preliminary or postliminary activities performed while traveling to or from work may be compensable under the Portal-to-Portal Act so long as they are integral to the employee's principal work activity and not only incidental or de minimis.