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.
Alex Chen is business director for APAC at FIME.
Kerry Zinn is a principal at Bressler, Amery & Ross P.C. Her practice focuses on financial crime compliance in particular anti-money laundering. She is also a member of the firm’s cannabis practice group and advises credit unions, payment processors and others on complying with the Bank Secrecy Act when servicing marijuana-related businesses.
Jessica Westerman is an associate at Katz, Marshall & Banks LLP, a plaintiff-side employment and whistleblower law firm based in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the firm, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Russell F. Canan of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Westerman received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and her BA from Princeton University.
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:
