new york cell phone reimbursement law

new york cell phone reimbursement law2020/09/28

Federal law only requires employers to reimburse employees for work-related expenses that drop their earnings below the minimum wage. Stat. Cochran v. Schwan's Home Services, Inc. (2014) 228 Cal. Employers must pay any benefits or wage supplements, including reimbursement for business-related expenses, that have been promised to an employee. Whether or not you're required to reimburse employees for remote work expenses, doing so can increase employee morale and be considered an employee benefit. Under California law, an employer that does not reimburse employees risks a lawsuit where the damages will include not just the unreimbursed expenses but the attorneys fees incurred by the employee seeking reimbursement. In this case, it is also recommended that you develop general guidelines around reimbursement to avoid confusion or unequal application. A well-drafted expense reimbursement policy will: (a) manage expectations about which business-related expenses may be reimbursed; (b) establish procedures employees must follow to be reimbursed; (c) set reasonable cost controls on employee business expenses; and (d) ensure that business expenses are appropriate. Eliminate large down payments and end-of-year surprises. However, an important caveat to that rule is that an employer may not require employees to pay or reimburse their employer for work-related expenses if it would cause the employee's pay rate to fall below the required minimum wage ($7.25) for hourly employees or salary threshold ($684 per week) for exempt employees. <> App. All communication from Paycor should be confirmed by your companys legal, tax, benefit, accounting or investment advisor before making any decisions. Get insights into your workforce to make critical business decisions. New York State's Labor Law provides that employers who fail, neglect, or refuse to pay "benefits or wage supplements" to their employees are guilty of a misdemeanor. This can include cell phone expenses, internet bills, and home office setup costs. Control costs and mitigate risk with accurate timekeeping. How can a failure to reimburse employees result in minimum wage violation? Federal law states that an employer only needs to reimburse their employees for work-related expenses that drop their earnings below theminimum wage. 1144.). According to the Los Angeles Times1, these companies include Wells Fargo, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Visa, Oracle, and Bank of America. App. The requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) may also alter employer reimbursement obligations. Baker McKenzies global Employment & Compensation team of over 700 lawyers in 45 countries has been ranked Band 1 by Chambers Global for Employment law for 13 consecutive years. An unlawful kickback happens when the following three conditions occur: This FLSA kickback rule often comes into play in industries that hire delivery drivers. As an example, under Section 2802 of California's Labor Code, employers are required to reimburse their employees for "all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee as a direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties," or to comply with the directives of the employer. Law Department, governs the limited personal use of the City of New York's ("City") office and technology resources by City employees. An employee can then request a reimbursement for their remote work expenses. Equipment such as copiers, printers, and fax machines, if necessary. employees' reimbursement of the City for personal use of mobile phones and of long distance telephone services. Currently, 11 states, the District of Columbia, and Seattle, Washington, have laws about reimbursing employees for necessary work-related expenses. With a remote work stipend, you can offer your employees a monthly allowance for their home office costs. Employers should also be aware of any potential reimbursement obligations under the FLSA or the obligations for employees working remotely as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. Looking for a simple way to reimburse your employees for their remote work costs? endobj Some say the safest approach is to pay the entire cost of an employees phone. Our customers are our heroes. %PDF-1.5 New York States Labor Law provides that employers who fail, neglect, or refuse to pay benefits or wage supplements to their employees are guilty of a misdemeanor. An employer will want to maintain records as to reimbursements made to employees and the rationale behind those reimbursement amounts. We collect no fees unless we are successful in obtaining compensation on your behalf. 4. Per the Cochran court: If an employee is required to make work-related calls on a personal cell phone, then he or she is incurring an expense for purposes of section 2802. Reduce labor spend, manage overtime, and maximize productivity across your workforce. To find out if you have a claim, send an online inquiry or call our law office at 917-639-5350 or toll free 1- 877-390-8732. Paycor has the right defenses in place to protect your data. Reduce tedious admin and maximize the power of your benefits program. By way of a recent amendment, the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act now requires employers with employees working in the State to reimburse their employees "for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee within the employee's scope of employment and directly related to services performed for the employer." But, the Fair Labor Standards Act3 (FLSA) requires employers to reimburse employees for work expenses if those expenses cause an employees earnings to fall below the federal minimum wage. Attorney Advertising|Disclaimer | Terms | Website Development by at p. Employers have several options for reimbursing remote work expenses. Check out this guided tour to see for yourself how our platform works. Well help reduce costs & mitigate risks. Even if they dont grumble, all employees using their personal phones for work must be reimbursed (that should be the first biggest and clearest takeaway from this article; the second, and less clear takeaway, is the amount of reimbursement, but hopefully we have given you some tools to create a policy). Ann 260.3. First, lets discuss why employers need to know remote work reimbursement laws. An action plan to help you achieve HR excellence based on Paycors proprietary data and research. More? This entry does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Firm is known for its global perspective, deep understanding of the local language and culture of business, uncompromising commitment to excellence, and world-class fluency in its client service. That means that employers in D.C. are also generally not required to reimburse employees for the cost of tools and supplies necessary to perform their job where an employee's remote work arrangement is entirely voluntary, meaning they are neither required nor encouraged to continue to work remotely. To show liability under section 2802, an employee need only show that he or she was required to use a personal cell phone to make work-related calls, and he or she was not reimbursed. A: An employer is likely not responsible for the entire personal cell phone bill of an employee simply because that employee uses his/her personal cell phone for work purposes. (d) In addition to recovery of penalties under this section in a court action or proceedings pursuant to Section 98, the commissioner may issue a citation against an employer or other person acting on behalf of the employer who violates reimbursement obligations for an amount determined to be due to an employee under this section. It is irrelevant whether the employee changed plans to accommodate work-related cell phone usage. Remedies available for retaliation. Illinois law imposes time restrictions by requiring employees to submit expense reimbursement requests within 30 calendar days of incurring the expense and include sufficient documentation to verify the expense. The delivery drivers could argue that based on the average distance they drive to deliver pizzas, their employer should be paying them a greater mileage reimbursement amount. Some, particularly in tech, may be working from home through the end of the year, or even permanently! 1 0 obj Examples of benefits or wage supplements listed in the statute include, but are not limited to, the following: Is your employer refusing to compensate you for business-related expenses that you paid out of your pocket? The law, which takes effect on May 7, 2022, will require all private employers, regardless of size, with a place of business in New York State to provide written notice upon hire to new employees if . Amazon2 has also been added to the mix, with workers in California suing the e-commerce giant for unpaid remote work expenses. Some states require employers to reimburse employees only for necessary expenditures. Plan, manage, and execute pay increases and rewards. The Cochran case provides guidance on how to calculate a reasonable reimbursement for the mandatory use of personal devices such as cell phones: employers must compensate their employees for a "reasonable percentage" of the employee's cell phone bill under Section 2802. Streamline recruiting and hiring so you can quickly and effectively fill open positions, develop top talent, and retain your workforce. That's why many forward-thinking companies are now adopting bring-your-own-device . Lastly, you know these new business expense reimbursement laws could impact your budgets going forward. For example, employees may now (and for the foreseeable future) be incurring expenses related to printer paper, pencils, pens, cell phone expenses, home internet bills, etc. Only a small percentage of companies surveyed 20% in 2020 reported sharing the costs of remote work with employees (Owl Labs). While current statistics have shown a decline in new COVID-19 cases, many employers are contemplating continued remote work as part of their new normal. )\D5\ DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations. For help crafting your expense reimbursement policy, please contact your Baker McKenzie employment lawyer. Of course, the courts have not defined what reasonable percentage means, but the main options are: Given the practical challenges of (1) and (2) above, and the fact that many employees have cell phones that they prefer and the even greater complexity of applying this rubric to home internet use, many employers are looking for a simpler approach. A: Alaska, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Washington, DC all have enacted statutes which bear on expense reimbursement. Some employees wages may dip below the federal minimum wage as a result of their employer not reimbursing them for business-related expenses. California, however, does have a law requiring employers to reimburse employees for business-related expenses. Examples of reimbursement arrangements that may be in excess of the expenses reasonably related to the needs of the employer's business and should be examined more closely include: (1) reimbursement for international or satellite cell phone coverage to a service technician whose business clients and otherbusiness contacts are all in the local . We hold that when employees must use their personal cell phones for work-related calls, Labor Code section 2802 requires the employer to reimburse them. With the ability to set custom allowances and offer stipends for other expense categories, such as wellness, you can offer a benefit your employees love in minutes. The Cochran court did note that the employer can engage in some calculations: In calculating the reimbursement amount due under section 2802, the employer may consider not only the actual expenses that the employee incurred, but also whether each of those expenses was necessary, which in turn depends on the reasonableness of the employee's choices. (Id. Insights into your workforce printers, and fax machines, if necessary of their employer reimbursing. Make critical business decisions and execute pay increases and rewards, that have been promised an... Federal law only requires employers to reimburse employees result in minimum wage violation employees wages may below! 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