Employer Can’t Reimburse if They Don’t Know About the Charges

Thursday, 29 April 2010 11:51

Wage & Hour

In Stuart v. RadioShack Corp., the District Court for the Northern District of California held that before an employer’s duty to reimburse employees for expenses is triggered, it must either have known or have reason to know that the employee has incurred the expense. 

In this case, employees sued after using their personal cars to perform work for the employer, even though they never actually requested reimbursement from the employer, nor did the employer know he owed them money.

COUNSEL TO MANAGEMENT:

California Labor Code § 2802 requires all employers to reimburse employees for  necessary job-related expenses and losses.

Employers should make sure that they pay any expenses incurred by employees that they are aware or that they think could exist.  If employers are not sure whether they owe any expenses to an employee for a particular job, they should ask the employee to ensure that that employee receives their reimbursement.