If you are a working professional or employee in California, you should definitely know about the Labor Code 2802. For the unversed, the Labor Code 2802 law states that employers must reimburse employees for all reasonably necessary expenses required to do a job. If you employer doesn’t reimburse these expenses, you may have the scope to file a lawsuit. In this post, we are sharing more information on the work expense reimbursement law in California.
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Understanding the basics
California Labor Code section 2802 basically says that employees must be reimbursed for work-related expenses they have incurred. The premise for the law is rather simple – For running a particular business, these expenses are necessary, and the business is just shifting the expenses to employees. Unfortunately, in the real world, employers are not always as just as they are expected. There are many cases, where employers have taken retaliatory action or terminated employees because they wanted to be reimbursed for office-related expenses. It should be noted that this law is valid in California only. There is no federal law that mandates the same.
What expenses should be reimbursed to employees?
The Labor Code section 2802 states that all reasonable and necessary expenses that an employee has incurred to do the work they are assigned must be repaid/reimbursed. A very basic and simple example of work-related expenses would be travel expenses. Other expenses that are typically reimbursed include cost of personal phone used for business purposes, cost of uniform, expenses related to attending seminars and conferences, and postage. If an employee had to entertain business partners, clients and associates, costs related to the same must be reimbursed too.
What about remote workers and employees?
Considering the pandemic times that we are living in; most companies have remote workers and employees working for them. Expenses that should be reimbursed to such employees include office equipment, cost of printing products and equipment, any online subscription required for working, and internet bills.
Denied your rights? Call an attorney
If you believe that your employer hasn’t given you the necessary reimbursements that you are entitled to, you should consider calling an attorney. An employment attorney should be able to guide on your circumstances. Keep in mind that in some cases, employers increase the salary of the employee, rather than paying for expenses through additional reimbursements. This kind of repayment is also acceptable in California.
Check online to find more on California Labor Code 2802!