The Illinois Act is modeled on a similar law in California. California courts have construed their reimbursement law as obligating employers to reimburse employees when employees are required to use their personal cell phones for work. The more specific issue is what happens if the employee cannot show what percentage he or she uses a cell phone for work versus personal calls. California courts have said that the employer must reimburse the employee for a “reasonable percentage” of the personal cell phone bill. Strangely, this is true even when the employee has an unlimited data and phone plan It’s not clear how Illinois courts will resolve this specific issue.
Along these same lines, if an employer requires its employees to use their own laptop computers or tablets for work, employers should establish a policy for how much they will reimburse employees for those expenses. Employers will likely need to reimburse employees for at least some portion of personal cell phone use for work duties and home internet expenses if the employee is required to work online at home. Again, employers can limit the amount of any such reimbursement but still must reimburse beyond a de minimis amount.