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Under the California Labor Code, employers must reimburse employees for “all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties.”
These can include items such as:
- Business supplies;
- Automobile expenses;
- Airfare, meal and lodging expenses for business travel;
- Uniforms required by the employer; and
- Cell phone usage for work-related phone calls.
If an employee incurs expenses to carry out her job duties, the employer has to reimburse her for those expenses, which can include use of a personal vehicle, parking, tools and equipment. The right to be reimbursed for employment expenses cannot be waived by the employee. Employers who don’t reimburse their employees for business expenses may be held liable under California law not just for the unpaid expenses but also interest and attorneys’ fees.