Employees often have to pay for business-related expenses. However, it is against the law for an employer to fail to reimburse employees for business expenses incurred. Improper deductions may include deductions for uniforms, gasoline, meals during business trips, meals when meeting with clients and other un-reimbursed expenses. Do your expenses qualify as business-related? Call our attorneys for a free consultation.
Work Expenses Must be Reimbursed
California Labor Code Section 2802 reads in part:
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.
To read the entire § 2802 statute and some common violations, click this link.
Class Action Lawyer
Most unreimbursed cases will be tried in class action form. This is because most employee 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. This way, all the employees can band together, aggregate their unreimbursed expenses, and sue together. This increases the value of the case which in turn justifies getting an experienced employment lawyer involved.