Legal Question in Workers Comp in California

I live in California's and I work at a company where they require me to bring my own toold , such as drills, sockets, ratchets, etc. I read the california labor code section 20082 and it states if you provide your own tools the employee should be making twice the minimum wage and i am currently am not . I asked my h.r. about it and she says since they give me a tool allowance of 500 dollars a year they are not required to do so i that true


Asked on 10/14/16, 12:37 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Nancy Wallace Nancy Wallace Atty at Law

I THINK you might mean Calif. Labor Code 2802 which requires the employer reimburse employees for their expenditures required to perform their job:

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=2802.&lawCode=LAB

There IS an exception to CLC Sec 2802 where IF the Employee is paid twice the minimum wage, she can be expected to furnish her own tools. but the reverse of that -- that folks who furnish their own tools are due twice the minimum -- is not true.

I suspect that the tool allowance of $500 is the minimum the Labor Board considers compliance with CLC 2802, reimbursing you for expenditures. But if you have receipts showing purchases of tools required to perform the job and these add up to way more than $500/year (you'll want more than one year of receipts), you should bring together all those receipts and file for a hearing with the California Labor Code for a violation by this employer of LC 2802.

Read more
Answered on 10/16/16, 3:31 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Workers' Compensation Law questions and answers in California