We’ve got some questions about reimbursement for pre-hire travel expenses. For example, do we have to reimburse expenses for:
- Coming in for an interview from out of town?
- Going to a facility for a psychological test?
- Going for a drug test?
- Going for a physical?
- Coming in for training or briefings before coming on board?
— Angie, HR Specialist in La Jolla
The HR Management & Compliance Report: How To Comply with California Wage & Hour Law, explains everything you need to know to stay in compliance with the state’s complex and ever-changing rules, laws, and regulations in this area. Coverage on bonuses, meal and rest breaks, overtime, alternative workweeks, final paychecks, and more.
For an answer to these questions, which most employers face at some point, we sought the advice of Diana Gregory.
In his book Good to Great, author Jim Collins states that “having the right people on the bus” is critical to any organization’s success. Based on your pre-hire qualifying process, it appears that your organization certainly takes steps to do that! However, it must be noted that such pre-hire tests, even if proven for reliability and validity, may trigger numerous liability risks that should be fully discussed with appropriate legal counsel. For example, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act both impose strict limitations on the use of information obtained from physical examinations and inquiries.
I divided your question into two parts: travel expenses for applicants and requiring pre-hire “work.”
Travel Expenses for Applicants
No specific law requires private employers to cover applicants’ travel expenses. (Assuming these are not current employees seeking transfer or promotion opportunities, in which case you would reimburse the expenses.) That said, it may be a smart business decision to reimburse such expenses in order to get “the right people on the bus,” especially for positions requiring a high degree of knowledge, skills, and experience that can often only be found by tapping a national or regional applicant pool.
The key to avoiding accusations of discriminatory hiring practices in your expense reimbursement practices is consistency. For any given recruiting effort, treat the reimbursement issue the same way for each applicant for that position. It is also important to ensure that all applicants are informed up front about all pre-employment requirements (including obtaining signed authorizations for certain pre-hire tests and background checks), what will and will not be reimbursed, and how that process is handled. Again, all testing issues, including location of facilities, administration, etc., trigger possible liability concerns and should be carefully undertaken only after seeking proper legal advice.
Requiring Pre-Hire “Work”
For the most part, requiring a pending hire to undertake training that is company-specific or to attend a company meeting or function may violate the Fair Labor Standards Act and a number of Labor Code provisions. There would also be possible workers’ compensation coverage issues, not to mention hire date discrepancies. In general, the only exception to this is that you can require high-level executives to take pre-hire training or to attend a company meeting. This being a complex issue and a difficult area of labor law, I would again recommend consulting appropriate legal counsel before establishing your requirements.
Diana Gregory is a senior human resources specialist at the Walnut Creek office of Administaff, a professional employer organization and human resources outsourcing firm.