Except where indicated below, the County does not reimburse employees for home to work and work to home travel. Any disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the mileage reimbursement policy shall be referred to the Human Resources Director whose decision shall be final. After notification is received from the IRS indicating a change in its allowable mileage rate, the County will change its rate to coincide with the rate set by the IRS, as soon as possible.
Definition of Regular Work Location: The County facility(ies) or designated area(s) within the County where an employee reports when commencing their regularly assigned functions.
Any County facility(ies) or designated area(s) to which an employee is assigned for a period in excess of thirty (30) consecutive work days shall ordinarily be considered a regular work location and, as such, not subject to employee mileage reimbursement. Temporary assignments that extend beyond thirty (30) days may be considered for a mileage reimbursement eligibility extension not to exceed a total of twenty (20) additional work days. All approval authority for extensions rests with the Human Resources Director whose decision shall be final.
An employee is entitled to mileage reimbursement under the following conditions:
- Once an employee arrives at their regular work location, any subsequent work-related travel in the employee’s own vehicle shall be eligible for mileage reimbursement.
- Travel to Trainings and Conferences
- If an employee uses their own vehicle for travel to and from any required training program or conference, the employee shall be entitled to mileage reimbursement for all miles traveled unless the employee is leaving directly from their residence, in which case the total shall be less the normal mileage to or from the employee’s regular work location.
- If an employee uses their own vehicle for travel to and from any optional work-related training program or conference the employee may, with department head pre-approval, be eligible for mileage reimbursement up to the limits specified in paragraph “a” above.
- An employee who is required to travel from their residence to a location other than their regular work location shall be entitled to mileage reimbursement for all miles traveled less the normal mileage to or from their regular work location.
Example: An employee lives in Burlingame and regularly works in San Mateo – distance home to work is 8 miles. Due to an early meeting the employee must travel from home to Redwood City (21 miles). The employee is entitled to 13 miles of reimbursement. This figure is arrived at by subtracting 8 miles (normal mileage from home to work) from 21 miles (home to Redwood City).
- An employee who is required to engage in any work-related travel at the conclusion of which the employee’s workday will be completed shall be entitled to mileage reimbursement for all miles traveled less the normal mileage from the regular work location to their residence.
Example: An employee lives in Palo Alto and regularly works in Redwood City – distance home to work is 13 miles. The employee has a meeting at Hayward (31 miles) which ends at 5:00 p.m. and therefore, the employee will go directly home (31 miles). The employee is entitled to 18 miles of reimbursement. This figure is arrived at by subtracting 13 miles (normal mileage from home to work) from 31 miles (distance from Hayward to home).
Exceptions to the above policy may be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Human Resources Director, whose decision shall be final.