Legal Question in Employment Law in California
I live in California. My company has an expense reimbursement policy that requires all expenses be submitted for reimbursement within 45 days or they will reserve the right to not pay you. My manager says I only have 30 or I will not get reimbursed. Is this legal if you are a salary exempt employee and you submit your expenses late, but less than 45 days? Here is the published policy:
"EXPENSE REPORT TIMING OF SUBMISSION � Travelers are expected to submit expense reports after the completion of each trip or at a minimum by the 15th and 30th of each month. Payment for expenses beyond 30 days will not be processed without RVP approval. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX reserves the right to refuse to pay any expense report that is beyond 45 days old."
1 Answer from Attorneys
California law does not impose a time limitation within which an employee may submit necessarily incurred business expenses, (other than the statutory 3 year time period) therefore, any employer imposed limitation would not be recognized by the California Labor Commissioner or the courts. I can see, however, where late submissions may call into question the legitimacy or accuracy of the expense imposed, so it would make sense to submit expense reports timely. But if legitimately incurred on behalf of the company, it must be reimbursed.
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