Starbucks recently paid a reported $3 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging its travel expense policy violated state wage and hour laws. The majority of the workers claimed they regularly used their personal vehicles to perform work-related duties but were allegedly told that Starbucks had a policy of not reimbursing for mileage. This settlement proved to be a costly lesson for the Seattle-based coffee purveyor - and a wake-up call for employers everywhere.
Travel-related expenses aren’t the only hot-button issue these days. New York-based fashion retailer Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. recently paid $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it required workers to wear clothes with distinctive designs without reimbursing them for what they claimed constituted uniforms. Also, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued an opinion letter earlier this year on whether an employee would have to pay out-of-pocket to replace a uniform damaged while he was off the clock.
It’s real-life issues like these that come up time and again for employers grappling to understand whether they’re in compliance with the laws governing reimbursements.
Order this in-depth, 90-minute webinar recording all about the legal pitfalls surrounding employee expense reimbursement practices. Our expert–a seasoned labor and employment attorney–will explain how you can insulate your organization from liability stemming from your employee reimbursement practices.
You and your colleagues will learn:
- The legally acceptable ways you can reimburse employees for the business-related use of their personal vehicles
- The travel-related expenses, such as meal and lodging, you must reimburse for, and when you’ll also owe employees for “incidental expenses” related to business travel
- When you must reimburse employees for uniforms and whether you have to reimburse them for laundering their work clothes
- Whether you can require employees to wear a certain type of clothing–but not an actual uniform–without reimbursing them for their purchases
- If you can legally increase an employee’s wages or commissions instead of reimbursing them for actual expenses
- When employees may not be eligible for reimbursement for tools or equipment
- How to draft your handbook and employment policies so you’re in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act and IRS regulations
This webinar will be recorded on Tuesday, December 8, 2009
About Your Speaker:
Laura P. Worsinger, Esq., is Of Counsel with the Los Angeles office of Dykema Gossett PLLC. She has broad counseling and litigation experience and specializes in the defense of employers in cases involving discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, wage and hour, privacy, and other employment-related proceedings. Worsinger represents clients before numerous state and federal courts and administrative agencies, including the DOL, the DLSE, the EEOC, the DFEH, and the EDD. Conducting workplace investigations and audits, she has helped many clients to avoid or defeat wage claims and discrimination claims. She is also a sexual harassment trainer, and she advises clients on compliance with the ADA, the ADEA, FEHA, and Title VII.
Approved for Recertification Credit
This program has been approved for 1.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI homepage at www.hrci.org.
