House Bill 1136 (HB 1136), which requires employers to re-imburse employees for ‘all necessary expenditures and losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of the employee’s duties’, is unnecessary legislation that is poorly written and overly vague in its application.

It creates a situation where an employee, that may incur a loss through no fault of the employer, can ask for re-imbursement. Additionally, it would allow an employee to file a lawsuit against the employer for the reimbursement and all related fees and attorney costs.

As an example, if an employee is driving their own vehicle to a location for work, has insufficient insurance and causes an accident, does the employer now have to re-imburse the employee for ‘all necessary expenditures’ related to the accident, including deductibles and the likely insurance claim against the employee for being an underinsured motorist?

Another example: should an employee lose their luggage on a business trip without buying insurance (even if the employer would have covered the cost of the insurance), does this mean that the employer has to pay for replacement? According to the language in HB 1136, the answer is yes in both cases.

HB 1136 is so broad in its definition of re-imbursement that almost any activity that an employee performs while working for an employer that causes a loss, irrespective of if the employer authorized the activity, will result in a claim.

HB 1136 will require an employer to carry additional liability insurance to cover claims from employees and the resulting attorney’s fees.

HB 1136 will destroy jobs and increase the costs of products and services and should not be adopted.