Employers often fail to reimburse employees for expenses that the employee is required to incur in the course of his or her duties. This is unlawful in California. Our employment attorneys are experienced in litigating unreimbursed expense class actions. Labor Code § 2802 requires employers to pay employees for all necessary business expenses:
(a) An employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, or of his or her obedience to the directions of the employer, even though unlawful, unless the employee, at the time of obeying the directions, believed them to be unlawful.
Class Action Lawyer for Employees
Most unreimbursed cases must be tried in class action form. This is because most employees don’t spend enough money on behalf of their employer to justify a lawsuit. However, if a company fails to reimburse all of its employees for business expenses, a class action may be appropriate.
Types of Expenses Suitable for Class Actions
- Travel – gas, mileage, & parking
- Cell phone usage
- Tools & equipment
- Access passes
- Uniforms
- Materials
- Wages for subordinates
- Desk rentals
- Computer equipment, software, or other required tools
- A cashier forced to pay differences of cash register shortages
- There are many other common examples….
The good thing about this area of law is that employers cannot force you to waive your right to reimbursement. California Labor Code section 2804 states, in relevant part:
Any contract or agreement, express or implied, made by any employee to waive the benefits of this article or any part thereof, is null and void.