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.
Sally Welborn currently advises companies who are engaged in improvement of the healthcare industry. Sally has held leadership roles across employee benefits and health care throughout her career and most recently served as the Senior Vice President of Benefits for Walmart.
Owen Tripp is co-founder and CEO of Grand Rounds, a healthcare company that connects patients with local and remote specialty care. Prior to Grand Rounds, Owen co-founded Reputation.com and grew the company into the worldwide leader in online reputation and privacy management; he also held leadership positions at eBay and Accenture (Health and Life Sciences Practice). Owen has been recognized among the World Economic Forum’s Global Technology Pioneers, Goldman Sachs’ Top 50 Builders + Innovators and Rock Health’s Most Beloved CEOs.
Jordi Torras is CEO and founder of Inbenta.
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:
