Employees working from home during the coronavirus pandemic claimed some outlandish expenses this year, including pricey exercise bikes, facelifts and private jets.
Emburse, an expense management software company, released a compilation Wednesday of some of the craziest expenses it has seen claimed this year, some of which were actually approved. That included $1,895, which was approved as a contribution for an employee's Peloton Bike under the explanation of “for health and wellness.” On the other hand, a $7,600 expense claim for a facelift was submitted under the category of “repairs and maintenance” but was rejected, despite the pressing need to look one’s best during a Zoom meeting.
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Charles Lee, MD, has been a leading national advocate for simplifying and making medical information more understandable for patients. He is senior advisor on health literacy and language barriers at First Databank. In 2001 he started Polyglot Systems with a mission to develop practical, affordable multi-language technology solutions to improve healthcare access and reduce disparities for underserved and limited English proficient patient populations.
Mitch Doust is Executive Vice President and Head of the Americas for CoverGenius, where he is responsible for the establishment and growth of the XCover platform and the broader Cover Genius business across North America, Canada and Latin America. Mitch recently joined Cover Genius from leading insurtech company Trov (www.trov.com), where he was Global Head of Business Development and led the establishment of Trov's global network of insurance partnerships. Prior to his move into technology, Mitch began his career with EY in Australia before moving to the Suncorp Group (one of Australia’s leading insurers) where he held a number of strategic roles including P&C strategy, venture investing and strategic innovation. Mitch also serves as an independent advisor at Anthemis Group
Some expenses weren’t for working from home, but more about getting out of the house safely. An expense claim for a private jet charter costing over $20,000 was submitted and approved under the explanation of “required to limit COVID exposure for international shoots.” Another travel-related expense claim was $2,500 for a helicopter ride, which was not approved.
The $79 expense claim for a dog crate could perhaps be used for travel at some point when that's safer, but in these times it was more plausibly to provide "crate training [for] a new COVID puppy to not run into Zoom meetings."
Below is an infographic produced by Emburse showing this and several other head-scratching claims:
