Can a company require you to use your own funds or credit cards for company business?
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Can a company require you to use your own funds or credit cards for company business?
Our company now requires employees traveling to use their own funds or credit cards for travel. They reimburse after expense report is turned in. Excutives and managers have corporate cards they can use. Those who didn’t have corporate cards could get an advance. To me this amounts to a forced loan to the company with no interest.
Asked on January 15, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Arizona
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You are right from an accounting standpoint: this is tantamount to a no-interest loan to the company. You are morally right that it is unfair. Unfortunately, legally, the company is in the right--this is perfectly legal. A company can require employees to use their own funds for business expenses, and is not even required by law to reimburse them--that is, it could be a term or condition of employment that employees simply bear these expenses themselves. Employees who do not like the company's expense policy have no recourse other than to seek alternate employment.
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