What to do if I’m a maintenance man working for minimum wage and am required to use my own vehicle for work and pay my own gas for work hours?
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What to do if I’m a maintenance man working for minimum wage and am required to use my own vehicle for work and pay my own gas for work hours?
Is my employer required to reimburse me considering it technically drops me below minimum wage?
Asked on November 15, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Oregon
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
No, the employer is NOT required to reimburse you, and from a legal perspective, you cannot offset your costs against your wages to see if you are paid minimum wage or not. The company's only obligation is to pay you wages that equal or exceed minimum, regardless of the cost to get to work or do your work--even if those costs were so high as to make working a net losing proposition for you, the company would still be in compliance with the labor law so long as you were paid minimum for the number of hours you worked.
Employers are not obligated by law to pay their employee's costs.
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