8/31/2023 0 Comments Work remotely jobs![]() ![]() As with any other lawful policy, expense reimbursement policies can be enforced with discipline – even termination of employment. It is fine and it is common for employers to have policies that establish expense restrictions and reimbursement processes such as these. Q: Can employers require that employees have approval before an expense is incurred? That reimbursement requests be made within a certain period of time? That receipts be provided?Ī: Yes. Both exempt and non-exempt employees are covered by Section 2802. Q: Do exempt employees have to be reimbursed for their expenses?Ī: Yes. The law covers only employees and not properly classified independent contractors or consultants. Q: Must employers reimburse independent contractors for their expenses?Ī: No. If an employee has a choice of working remotely or working at an on-site location where the employer provides all necessary equipment, then remote-working expenses are not necessary to perform job duties and need not be reimbursed. ![]() ![]() Section 2802 requires only that expenses that are necessary to perform job duties be reimbursed. Q: Must employers reimburse an employee for home office expenses if the employee chooses to work from home rather than going into the office?Ī: No. Here are answers to some of the frequently asked questions about the reimbursement obligation under California law. Instead, employers must reimburse employees for any expenditure that is required in order for them to perform their job responsibilities. The IBM decision is a stark reminder that the law does not consider whether the employer requires or even requests the expenditure. The Court rejected IBM's argument, observing that "the obligation does not turn on whether the employer's order was the proximate cause of the expenses it turns on whether the expenses were actually due to performance of the employee's duties." Quoting legislative history, the Court noted that "Section 2802 is designed to prevent employers from passing their operating expenses on to their employees." The Court distinguished expenditures like those Thai claimed from expenditures on personal protective equipment (PPE) because PPE was generally usable and was required in a variety of settings and was not an "operating expense" of the employer. IBM resisted, claiming that reimbursement was not required because the expenses resulted from a mandate of the government (i.e., stay-at-home orders) and not of IBM. International Business Machines Corporation, Paul Thai sued his former employer, IBM, claiming that he and other California employees should be reimbursed for the cost of, among other things, internet access, telephone service, a telephone headset, and a computer and accessories when they worked remotely in 2020. On July 11, 2023, the California Court of Appeal addressed the issue of remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic and ruled that the government-mandated shutdown did not create an exception to Labor Code Section 2802: remote workers must be reimbursed for the necessary expenses they incur in order to perform their work duties, regardless of who mandates the remote working. Despite its longevity, the significance of the obligation dramatically changed with the advent of computers and cell phones – and lately, with the prevalence of employees working remotely. Although recodified and amended several times, the obligation has existed in California law since 1872. The California Court of Appeal has recently reaffirmed (and some would say expanded) the right of California employees to be reimbursed for job-related expenses.Ĭalifornia has long required that employers reimburse employees for necessary expenses they incur in doing their jobs. Reimbursing employees for job-related expenses has become a hot-button issue with so many employees working remotely and even on-site employees communicating with their employers by way of their personal cell phones. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |