Q&A: Workers question paying for bad coffee

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Karla L. Miller writes an advice column on navigating the modern workplace.

Q: My large employer has been charging everyone $1 per week for "coffee and supplies." Many of us do not drink the coffee, as it is awful. Also, the "supplies" are folders, forms and paper that would normally be provided by the company for office use.

A: That is unconscionable. No one should be forced to pay for bad coffee.

"It goes against what you might expect," says employment attorney Carla Murphy of Duane Morris, but US federal labour law doesn't require employers to cover expenses such as supplies and uniforms for non-exempt employees (eligible for overtime pay). The exception: When the expenses reduce the workers' hourly rate for the week to below minimum wage or cut into overtime owed - which I doubt will happen at $1 per week.

For exempt workers (not entitled to overtime), it's simpler: Employers can't legally reduce their promised salary, except in a few limited cases - and buying caffeinated bile is not one of those exceptions. So exempt workers forced to chip in may have a viable legal complaint.

It's possible your employer is charging workers to make them mindful of waste. But if some workers rationalise that they're entitled to take a few reams home since they pay for them, it could result in theft, not thrift.

Q: My husband's job requires him to give presentations and network at trade shows. He is required to pay for the table and trade show fees out of pocket and submit them for reimbursement. Some of these fees are thousands of dollars, and it can take a month for us to recoup our costs.

Paying in cash depletes our savings, and when we use a credit card, we incur interest if reimbursement comes after the payment due date. My husband has protested to his higher-ups, but he was met with resistance. I'm sure that since they're reimbursing us, this is all perfectly legal, but is it normal for us to have to maintain a slush fund to cover work expenses?

A: Because your husband is eventually reimbursed, this setup doesn't seem to violate any laws - but it doesn't inspire faith in his employer's financial governance.

Company-issued credit cards are more common and less burdensome for employees. If your husband's company won't consider that, and if your husband can't arrange for trade shows to invoice his employer directly, he should use a separate credit card - not cash - to cover those fees, file expense claims immediately and push to recoup any interest incurred by late reimbursement. If he's not reimbursed promptly and in full, call an employment lawyer.

Miller has written for and edited tax publications for 16 years, most recently for the accounting firm KPMG's Washington National Tax office.