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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6536
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 3794
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)
AN ACT REQUIRING ADE QUATE EQUIPMENT AND
REIMBURSEMENT FOR EM PLOYEES WORKING FROM HOME.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) For purposes of this 1
section: 2
(1) "Employer" means any person engaged in business who has one 3
or more employees, including the state and any political subdivision of 4
the state; 5
(2) "Employee" means any person engaged in service to an employer 6
in the business of the employer; 7
(3) "Necessary expenditures" means all expenditures required of the 8
employee by the employer, in the discharge of employment duties that 9
inure to the primary benefit of the employer, including, but not limited 10
to, the cost of purchasing: (A) Equipment and technology, including, but 11
not limited to, items such as computers, printers and cellular phones; 12
(B) services, including, but not limited to, services such as internet 13
provider services, mobile internet access services and cellular telephone 14 Raised Bill No. 6536
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services; and (C) employment-related supplies such as paper and 15
printer ink and toner. Necessary expenditures do not include (i) 16
expenses agreed to be borne by the employee prior to an assignment to 17
work from home; (ii) expenses or losses due to an employee's own 18
negligence, normal wear, or theft, unless the theft was a result of the 19
employer's negligence; or (iii) expenses indirectly related to the 20
employee's scope of employment, such as costs related to traveling to 21
and from the employee's regular work location. 22
(b) An employer shall reimburse an employee for all necessary 23
expenditures incurred by the employee within the employee's scope of 24
employment and directly related to services performed for the 25
employer. 26
(c) The provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to 27
an employer who provides an employee with all equipment and 28
technology, services and employment-related supplies necessary for the 29
employee's scope of employment and directly related to services 30
performed for the employer. 31
(d) An employer shall not be required to fully reimburse an employee 32
for necessary expenditures that are services that the employee 33
concurrently receives for his or her own personal use, provided an 34
employer shall reimburse an employee for not less than fifty per cent of 35
the cost of such services. 36
(e) An employee shall report to the employer any necessary 37
expenditures and provide appropriate supporting documentation not 38
later than thirty calendar days after incurring the expense, except that 39
an employer may provide additional time for submitting requests for 40
reimbursement in a written expense reimbursement policy. Where 41
supporting documentation is nonexistent, missing, or lost, the employee 42
shall submit a signed statement regarding any such receipts. An 43
employer shall reimburse the employee for the necessary expenditure 44
no later than thirty calendar days after receiving such appropriate 45
supporting documentation or signed statement. 46 Raised Bill No. 6536
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(f) An employer who has reimbursed an employee for purchasing a 47
necessary expenditure shall maintain ownership rights to the 48
equipment and technology, services, or employment-related supplies 49
for which the employer provided such reimbursement, provided the 50
provisions of this subsection shall not apply to reimbursements for 51
services made pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. 52
(g) An employee shall not be entitled to reimbursement under this 53
section if (1) the employer has an established written expense 54
reimbursement policy which the employee has reviewed and agreed to 55
and, (2) the employee failed to comply with the written expense 56
reimbursement policy. 57
(h) An employer is not liable under this section unless the employer 58
authorized or required the employee to incur the necessary expenditure 59
or the employer failed to comply with its own written expense 60
reimbursement policy. 61
(i) An employee or employer may file a complaint with the Labor 62
Commissioner alleging violations of this section. Upon receipt of the 63
complaint, the commissioner shall investigate such complaint and may 64
hold a hearing. The commissioner shall send each party a written copy 65
of his or her decision and may award all appropriate relief. If the 66
commissioner finds that a party wilfully violated this section, he or she 67
may levy a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars per violation. Any 68
party aggrieved by the decision of the commissioner may appeal the 69
decision to the Superior Court in accordance with the provisions of 70
chapter 54 of the general statutes. 71
(j) The Labor Commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance 72
with the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to establish 73
procedures and guidelines necessary to implement the provisions of this 74
section. 75
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
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Section 1 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require employers to provide adequate equipment and
reimbursement to certain employees who work from home.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]