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California Supreme Court Denies Petition to Review Requirement that California Employers Must Reimburse Employees for Cell Phone Usage


A few months ago, I wrote a note about a court in California which held that, under California Labor Code Section 2802, employees who must use personal cell phones for work are entitled to reimbursement for "some reasonable percentage" of the personal cell phone bill.  (Employers Required to Reimburse Employees for Cell Phone Bills - Blog)

Late last year, the California Supreme Court denied a petition for review filed by Schwan's (the losing party at the Court of Appeal level) to review the appellate court's decision and also denied Schwan's request to depublish the Court of Appeal decision.  Unsurprisingly, the petition had wide support by employers who questioned the broad holding from the appellate court.

At this point, now that the Schwan decision will not be overturned, it is interesting to see whether any other California court will follow the same line of reasoning by this Court of Appeal.  Employers would be wise to implement or update any mobile device policies as well as take another look at expense reimbursement policies to avoid potential litigation, in light of the California Supreme Court's recent decision.


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