Clark Hill PLC Offers Business Expense Reimbursement Policy Under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act
Effective January 1, 2019, the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act was amended to include a requirement that employers must reimburse their employees for all expenses within the scope of “necessary expenditures incurred by the employee within the employee’s scope of employment and directly related to services performed for the employer.” Clark Hill PLC previously prepared a client e-alert on the new expense reimbursement mandate. Under the amendment, an employer is not liable for failing to reimburse an employee so long as the employer has “an established written expense reimbursement policy” and the employee fails to comply with that preexisting written expense reimbursement policy. Additionally, an employer that maintains a written expense reimbursement policy that contains specifications or guidelines for necessary expenditures is not liable for expenses that exceed those expenditure amounts — so long as the employer does not institute a policy that provides for no reimbursement or de minimis reimbursement.
Well drafted, legally compliant policies and procedures are the first steps to avoiding legal liability. Clark Hill provides our clients with “must have” policies such as anti-harassment policies, social media policies, Family & Medical Leave Act policies, and now, a written business expense reimbursement policy for Illinois. Clark Hill attorneys do not craft policies in a vacuum but work closely with our clients to capture the culture and unique needs of each organization. We emphasize the practical, eliminate "legalese," and focus on communicating what employees and managers need to know in order to limit an organization’s potential legal exposure while furthering its overall business objectives.
For a modest fixed fee, Clark Hill is pleased to offer our clients a sample template business expense reimbursement policy that can be implemented immediately and/or specifically modified for your organization. For those who wish to customize the policy, the price does include assistance from one of Clark Hill’s Labor and Employment attorneys.
For more information about this unique offering, please contact Scott Cruz at (312) 985-5910 | scruz@clarkhill.com or another member of Clark Hill’s Labor and Employment Law practice group.