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.
Dr. Chris Pierson, the CEO and founder of BlackCloak, a cybersecurity firm, served for over a decade on the Department of Homeland Security's Privacy Committee and Cybersecurity Subcommittee. He is the former president of the FBI's Arizona InfraGard and the former chief privacy officer for Royal Bank of Scotland. Dr. Pierson is a Distinguished Fellow of the Ponemon Institute.
Kevin Hart is the chief executive of Green Check Verified.
A mom, runner, nature lover, and also a veterinarian with a passion for integrating veterinary and healthcare science and operational excellence into sustainably successful business results. In my role as Chief Medical Officer at Banfield Pet Hospital, I seize the opportunity to help improve the health and wellbeing of veterinary professionals to build an industry in which we can better serve today's pets and their owners. Healthy vets. Healthy pets. Healthy communities.
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:
