Cell Phone Allowance Policy
The College compensates those employees who are required to use their personal cell phones for business purposes. This policy outlines the allowances offered and the process for requesting an allowance.
II. APPLICABILITY.
This policy applies to all employees (faculty, administrators, and staff) who are required to use their personal cell phones for business purposes.
III. POLICY.
Oxy provides employees with cell phone allowances to compensate them for the cost of using their personal cell phone for business purposes. The allowance is paid in equal installments each pay period, and is included as income on the employee's paycheck. This allowance represents a reasonable estimate of Oxy’s portion of the employee’s personal device cost and data plan/service bill. This allowance is not intended to cover 100% of the cost of a device or data plan that is used for both business and personal purposes.
Employees are responsible for notifying their supervisor if the performance of their job duties requires use of a personal cell phone. The employee’s supervisor will determine the employee’s eligibility for a cell phone allowance, based on (i) whether and (ii) how often the employee’s job requires use of a personal cell phone. Eligibility guidelines are included in the Cell Phone Allowance Request form.
All eligible employees will receive a cell phone allowance of $15, $30, or $45 per month, depending on the amount of personal cell phone use required for business purposes, as determined by the employee’s supervisor:
- Low Use [$15] Less than 40% of personal phone use is for business purposes.
- Medium Use [$30] Approximately 40-60% of personal phone use is for business purposes.
- High Use [$45] More than 60% of personal phone use is for business purposes.
Employees are responsible for notifying their supervisor if the amount of required business usage changes.
Where the designated allowance does not cover the amount of personal cell phone usage required for business purposes, employees may submit a supplemental reimbursement request with justification and supporting documentation (copies of relevant bills and an expense report itemizing the costs of calls and data used for business purposes) demonstrating that the allowance is insufficient. Such supplemental requests must be submitted to the Business Office.
To request an allowance, the employee must work with their supervisor to complete a Cell Phone Allowance Request form. If the supervisor determines that the employee’s job responsibilities require the use of a personal cell phone for business purposes, the supervisor will complete the form, select the appropriate level of usage (Low, Medium, or High), and attach a current copy of the employee’s job description. The employee, supervisor and divisional Vice President sign and submit the form to the Associate Vice President for Human Resources for review. Human Resources will provide a copy of the approved cell allowance request to the Business Office for payroll processing. Cell phone allowances may be modified or canceled at any time, and employees may be required to provide updated documentation supporting their use of a personal cell phone for required business purposes.
IV. POLICY HISTORY.
Responsible Officer(s): AVPHR; Controller
Effective Date: October, 2022
Last Revised Date: January, 2024