![]() ![]() (2014) 228 Cal.App.4th 1137, 1140-1141.Īn employee who successfully brings a claim for failure to reimburse work expenses is entitled to interest and costs, including attorney's fees under California Labor Code section 2802(c). The employer did not exercise due diligence to reimburse the expenditures.the expenditures or losses were necessary and.the expenditures or losses were incurred as a direct consequence of the employee's job duties or in obedience to the directions of the employer.the worker made expenditures or incurred losses.The elements of a failure to reimburse claim are: Claims for Failure to Reimburse Work Expenses Those expenses or costs shall constitute a necessary expenditure or loss incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of the employee’s duties, as that phrase is used in Section 2802.” California Labor Code section 2802.1. “Section 2802 applies to any expense or cost of any employer-provided or employer-required educational program or training for an employee providing direct patient care or an applicant for direct patient care employment. Employer-Required Educational Program or Training Similarly, an employee required to drive his vehicle in order to perform his work duties would also be entitled to reimbursement for fuel expenses directly attributable to his work-related travel. However, if the calls are necessary for the discharge of his or her duties and the calls affect the phone bill amount, then the employee is entitled under the law to reimbursement for each occasion where the employee used the employee’s personal phone for work. Often, an employee will not realize that these phone calls are inflating the rate of his or her phone bill. Some workers may be required to bring a cellular phone with them as they work in order to contact the business, clients, or other people associated with the performance of his or her job, when necessary. A common example of a work expense in today's work environment is a phone bill. Secondly, the expenditures must be in "direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties." California Labor Code section 2802(a). However, the employee would still be entitled to reimbursement for the drill, because the job required use of a drill and the employer did not provide one. If the employee buys a set of power equipment that comes with other tools besides the drill, then the accompanying tools might not be recognized by a court as a reimbursable expense under the statute. For instance, an employee is required to have a power drill to carry out the duties of his employment and the employer does not supply one. First, the employee shall be reimbursed only for "necessary expenditures." These shall include "all reasonable costs, including, but not limited to, attorney's fees incurred by the employee enforcing the rights granted by this section.” California Labor Code section 2802(c). There are two key elements to this statute. Any contract or agreement between an employer and employee waiving the employee’s right to reimbursement for work expenses is invalid. The statute aims to protect California workers by preventing “employers from passing their operating expenses on to their employees.” Gattuso v. ![]() ![]() “he broad purpose of Labor Code section 2802 is to require an employer to bear all of the costs inherent in conducting its business and to indemnify employees from costs incurred in the discharge of their duties for the employer's benefit.” In re Acknowledgment Cases (2015) 239 Cal.App.4th 1498, 1506. Originally enacted in 1937, California Labor Code section 2802 mandates that “An employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, or of his or her obedience to the directions of the employer, even though unlawful, unless the employee, at the time of obeying the directions, believed them to be unlawful." Reimbursable expenses can include mileage for use of the worker’s motor vehicle in the discharge of the employee’s duties, as well as parking, hotel, restaurant, and airfare charges. Workers in California have a broad right to reimbursement for work expenses. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |