Reimbursing ee for personal items
lori2008
1 Post
We had standing water in our warehouse one day, and one of the employees claims his $200 cowboy boots were ruined. Should the company reimburse him for these? The warehouse people do not have a uniform, or any other type of company-provided work clothes. Our dress code policy states "...attire be appropriate for your department and job responsibilities." However, several inches of standing water is not normal, and I don't think anyone should expect to have to work in those conditions. The question I've been asked is how do we know they cost $200, and should he replace them and bring us a receipt, or should we just give him $200? How should we handle this situation? Thank you.
Comments
I'm very cautious about this kind of thing but not because I'm the grinch. It's because of the door that you open. How will you start drawing lines about what is reimbursable and what wont be? It could end up being a really big headache. Admittedly, I'm a leery of a warehouse worker complaining that their boots got wet or dirty. Did the employee take any steps to protect their interests? Did they seek to avoid the standing water? Did they request a chance to change footwear or go across the water in a company vehicle (fork lift, golf cart, whatever) to avoid the obstacle? Do we know if the person actually wore those boots on the day the warehouse had standing water in it?
If the employee has done everything right and, for instance, was told to stand in the water to perform their job, and standing in water while working that job in that place is not a foreseeable or reasonable consequence of the job itself, then you may want to reimburse simply because that's the right thing to do. Have them produce the damaged boots and determine size, brand, etc. and find out for yourself if they can be cleaned and/or repaired. If not, then replace the boots with the exact same make, model, and size or nearest equivalent that will meet both parties' requirements. You might then also consider a dress code that sets out more clearly what is appropriate and/or recommend something from http://www.rdwngshoestore.com/ for future work days.
At the plant I was in, we gave employees a $60 gift card to Red Wing every year. The equivalent today would probably be more like $80, but our environment had certain requirements.
I know it is an unusual situation to have standing water on the floor of your warehouse, but he was not required to wear $200 footwear to work. It was his choice. It is truly unfortunate that his boots were damaged, however, what if it had rained that day? Each day someone comes to work in a particualr outfit, they run the risk of spilling something on themselves, an unexpected rain (or snow) shower, etc. Therefore, I really do not believe it is your responsibility to replace the gentleman's boots. If they were something he could not easily afford to replace, then perhaps he should rethink wearing them in an environment of which he had no control.
If you do choose to help him replace the boots, then I would definitely ask for a receipt or an online link to a site listing the price of the boots. I just think you're setting a bad precedent by replacing a non-uniform personal item. He would also need to invoice you for the item so you have some record for tax purposes. He of course, would be expected to pay all applicable taxes on the $200 the company gives him as it is a perk and not part of his compensation.
Best of luck,
E.
You should check your State's DOL for any requirements, though I have not seen any for my state. Some of the questions you could ask yourself are:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Was the ee required to wade into the standing water without proper gear?
Was proper gear available?
Could have this ee mitigated his damages by not wading into the standing water and using the proper gear?
What does your insurance policy say about employee’s personal property?
Do you reimburse your employees for normal ware and tear of clothing on the job? (What if an ee shirt is stained by oil?)
If you decide to reimburse the ee, you have a couple of options. Depending on how old the boots are the employee may not have a receipt so you could only reimburse for like boots up to the amount they claimed with a receipt for new ones, or depreciate the boots based on age. For example, if the boots are 5 years old, you could deduct 10% for each year or 50% over the life of the boot.
I would think about retaining the employee and creating good will among the warehouse staff since $200 is not a lot of money. But whatever you do, you will be setting a precedence. You need to think about how far you are willing to go with this. It may be time to look into updating your handbook for future incidents.