Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Travel reimbursements and paid travel time
I work for a company that contracts with AT&T so we work all over California and sometimes in Nevada, usually at a different job site each week and rarely go to the office. When calculating mileage for travel to sites, my employer subtracts 40 miles to the location from the office, regardless of where I leave from (my home or the office). I live 25 miles from the office so this means that I must subtract 65 miles anytime I work west of the office (which is most of the time). Is this legal? My employer also does not give per diem unless our job site is over 80 miles from the office. This means if my job site is at the 75 mile mark, I must commute 100 miles each day each way without being paid any travel time and only being reimbursed 35 miles each way. Can my employer set limits like that for travel time and whether or not we can get a hotel room and be reimbursed for it? Also, these limits recently changed (used to be 30 miles from wherever we left from that we subtract for reimbursement and 70 miles for per diem from our home), but we were not given any handout explaining these changes from HR, the manager just said one day that this is the way it is now, can he do that?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Travel reimbursements and paid travel time
Need more detail. Please email me at [email protected] with your telephone number.
Re: Travel reimbursements and paid travel time
Hello, under Cal. Labor Code 2802, your employer must reimburse you for all necessary, reasonable expenses incurred as a direct consequence of discharging your duties. It sounds like your employer might be violating the law.
If you would like to discuss this further, feel free to contact me. I am in your area.
Thanks,
Arkady Itkin
Attorney at Law
California Employment Specialist
San Francisco Bay Area & Sacramento
Re: Travel reimbursements and paid travel time
Can he? Sure, he did didn't he?
Can you object? Sure.
Is their policy 'legal'? Maybe.
Mileage reimbursement can be subject to some standard distance deductions. Per diem is also subject to some distance issues. There are a lot of minute rules on these issues, to argue over. The answer to whether you can recover anything will come from the Labor Commissioner at a hearing and trial. You can start the process by filing a complaint with that agency. You'll generally need an attorney to represent and help you.
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