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Unreimbursed Out-of-Pocket Business Expenses
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Under California law, employers are required to reimburse their employees for all necessary expenses 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. In other words, if you have to pay out-of-pocket to perform duties for your employer, then you are entitled to reimbursement. The amount of reimbursement may vary depending on the type of reimbursement. For example, if you use your personal vehicle to run work errands for your employer, the IRS recommends the employer reimburse the employee 58 cents per mile in 2019.
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Examples of Common Violations
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Some common examples of employers failing to reimburse employees for business expenses include:
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Using personal vehicle to make deliveries before, during or after work.
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Downloading apps on your personal phone, such as group chats to communicate with the supervisor, manager, and other employees to receive work schedules, information about meetings, and assignments.
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Using your phone's GPS application to navigate and make deliveries for your employer.
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Answer phone calls from your personal phone regarding work.
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Purchasing tools to perform job duties.
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Purchasing uniforms.
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Maintaining uniforms, such as washing and drying, dry cleaning, and ironing uniforms.
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Answering work e-mails from home.
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