California labor law 2802 requires that employers reimburse employees for all employee related expenses in the discharge of their duties. This means that employers are required to pay non commuting auto mileage reimbursement when employees use their personal vehicles in the performance of their duties (i.e. travel from worksite to worksite). Other examples of reimbursable expenses are cell phone, tools, and materials used in the performance of the job.
Employees that incur such expenses are entitled to timely, periodic reimbursement of such expenses not longer than 30 days from submitting expenses. In an important recent California Supreme Court Decision on November 5, 2007, Gattuso v. Harte-Hanks Shoppers, Inc. , the courts ruled that employers may increase the compensation to employees in lieu of expense reimbursement so long as such increase in compensation delineates what portion of the compensation is attributed to labor and what portion is attributed to expense reimbursement.
Employees are encouraged to keep an itemized log of all expenses supported with receipts to “prove up” expense reimbursement.
Employees that are required to work from home should be reimbursed, as applicable, for phone use, internet service, fax machine, office supplies, ink cartridges, and even perhaps a portion of the living space dedicated for office use to perform their employment duties.
It is not uncommon, especially for IT and Computer professionals who are required to log in from home and work, to be entitled to considerable expense reimbursement. In addition, outside sales people who routinely drive from location to location and then work from home may be able to claim auto mileage reimbursement (the IRS Standard may be used), as well as cell phone and perhaps home office related expenses. Construction workers who sometimes must purchase their own tools and supplies may also be able to claim reimbursement of such expenses under California labor code 2802.
