Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: Mileage Reimbursement vs. Gasoline Reimbursement

This is mostly a policy issue rather than a legal issue. California law generally requires reimbursement for an employee's out of pocket expenses that are necessary for the performance of the job. The Labor Commissoner will accept the Internal Revenue Service rate which is published periodically as full reimbursement (I think it is about 37 cents a mile), which takes into consideration wear and tear, insurance, maintence etc. Thus, if you are paying a per mile rate, you must be sure that is is full reimbursement. If you are only paying for gasoline, you may not be in compliance with California law. Of course, if you are supplying the vehicle, the rules will be different. As to how to manage the amount of fuel you pay for, I would suggest one method would be to require a milage log as well as recipts. Simple math will disclose whether you are paying for more than work miles.

If this does not fully address your question, feel free to call.

Re: Mileage Reimbursement vs. Gasoline Reimbursement

Sorry, but you are not going to get legal advice on which you can rely with a snap answer to a generalized question. Good advice on wage and hour laws will require thorough investigation of the facts, as you can imagine. If you would like to actually get usable advice, feel free to contact me.