Travel Pay and Expense Reimbursements - Do You Comply with the Law?

Why Should You Attend:

What laws dictate reimbursements of expenses incurred while traveling on company business? Can we reimburse for direct expenses without compensating for travel time? Issues include proper compensation for certain travel time and times when it does not have to be compensated, reimbursements for use by an employee of his or her own vehicle vs. use of a company owned vehicle, proper administration of and accounting for travel pay, and the best way to handle suspected abuses by employees of an employer’s travel and entertainment expense reimbursement policy.

This webinar will provide a clear understanding of the various laws affecting travel time. It will identify the risks to a company relating to employee accidents while traveling, even when merely driving to lunch. This webinar will also explain how to comply with an organization’s compensation and reimbursement obligations and reduce risk of corporate liability for the acts of employees.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Why the exempt or non-exempt status of organizations traveling employees matters
• The Fair Labor Standards Act and Portal Act requirements regarding travel pay
• Rate of pay for travel time
• Commuting expenses – when must they be reimbursed
• Travel between assignments – compensable time?
• One day and up to one year assignments at temporary locations
• Overnight travel
• Weekend travel versus travel on regular work days
• Travel before or after regular work hours
• Travel, entertainment, gift and car expense reimbursements
• Accountable vs. Non-accountable plan payments-deductibility
• The travel advance trap and how to avoid it
• Employer policy manual—communicating travel policies
• Employer’s liability to employee and to third parties for damages arising from company travel

Who Will Benefit:

• Risk and Compliance Officers
• Tax Managers
• CFOs
• Controllers
• Accounting Managers
• Payroll Administrators
• Auditors

Instructor Profile:

Miles Hutchinson is a CGMA and experienced businessman. He has been an auditor with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the chief financial officer of a $1 billion real estate development company. Mr. Hutchinson is a professional speaker and consultant who has presented over 2,000 seminars and training sessions on myriad business and financial topics, like financial analysis and modeling, accounting, strategic planning, and compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. He is recognized as an expert in payroll, and sales and use tax as well as financial modeling and analysis, business strategy and communications.

He is the author of several useful accounting and tax tools. His clients include Abbott Labs, Bank of America, Boston Scientific, Citicorp, Corning, the FBI, the FDA, the Federal Reserve, GE, Pfizer, Siemens, US Marine Corps, and the US Army.

Topic Background:

The Portal Act was enacted in 1947 to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to address compensation for travel time and establish a statute of limitations for making claims for unpaid wages and overtime pay. This law is viewed by many as quite ambiguous.

The IRS regulates deductibility of reimbursements of travel and entertainment expenses. Using their definitions and following their guidelines companies can maximize the deductibility of their properly documented business travel, meals and entertainment expenses. Apply their guidelines for determining when an employee meal is 100% deductible and when it is only 50% deductible. Understand the limitations on personal travel and entertainment mixed with business travel and entertainment. Ensure that your records will stand the scrutiny of a compensation or tax audit.

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