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.
Jason Rahlan is the Global Head of Sustainability and Impact at Dayforce. He has previously held a number of roles in the public, non-profit, and private sectors. This includes time at Chobani, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. House of Representatives. He is currently a member of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Sustainability Advisory Council as well as a board member for the Center for Family Support (CFS) Foundation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from American University and a Master of Science from Columbia University.
Elia Resch is director of partnerships at Digital Transformation Solutions. She is also the ecosystem acceleration lead at Cambridge SupTech Lab at Cambridge University.
Travis Hodges serves as Managing Director of Omnichannel Sales and Services at VIU by HUB, an omnichannel personal insurance brokerage platform. In this role, Hodges is responsible for leading Contact Centers, Claims, Service, Sales, Retention, and Multiple Distribution Channels for VIU by HUB.
With experience in P&C Sales at Nationwide, Hodges helped grow a $750M portfolio that includes Personal and Commercial Lines and was leader of a multi-site, multi-functional organization with P/L responsibility.
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:
