Labor Code 2802: Your Phone, Mileage, and Home Office Are the Company’s Bill

If you use your personal phone, car, or home internet for work, California requires the employer to pick up a reasonable share — even if you never submitted an expense report.

What California Law Says

Labor Code section 2802 requires reimbursement of all necessary expenditures incurred in the job. The Cochran decision held that employees who must use personal cell phones are owed a reasonable percentage of the bill even on unlimited plans, and remote workers have pressed the same logic for internet and utilities.

How to Fight Back, Step by Step

1. Inventory every work use of personal resources: phone, data, mileage at the IRS rate, tools, and home office costs during required remote work.
2. Gather bills and mileage logs; reasonable estimates are acceptable where records are thin.
3. Total the unreimbursed amounts across the claim period.
4. Submit a written reimbursement demand citing section 2802.
5. File with the Labor Commissioner if ignored — 2802 claims include interest and attorney fees.

Common Questions

I never asked for reimbursement while employed. Too late?

No. The obligation is the employer’s, and claims reach back three years, four under unfair competition.

What mileage counts?

Driving between job sites, to client meetings, and on work errands counts. Ordinary commuting from home to your regular workplace does not.