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.
Jung Ryu is the national accounts practice leader for The Standard and is responsible for developing comprehensive disability management solutions for his clients.
Ellen McCann is assistant vice president & special counsel at Unum. She holds a BA from the College of the Holy Cross and her JD from the University of Notre Dame Law School. She provides legal support to Unum’s leave management department for FMLA, ADA and paid leaves and is a frequent national speaker on these topics. In addition, she advises Unum’s HR department on all employment-related legal issues, with particular emphasis on FMLA, ADA, military leaves, wage/hour compliance and restrictive covenants.
Colleen Ciak is head of eAdoption at Billtrust. She can be reached on Twitter at @ColleenCiak.
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:
