Is the agency I work for doing anything illegal here?
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Is the agency I work for doing anything illegal here?
I work for an agency that provides transportation and other services to their clients. This agency is compensated well for these services. They have company cars but often do not have enough to provide transportation for everyone. Due to this, the agency is requiring their staff to provide transportation in their own vehicles and to buy insurance that covers their clients. This insurance is over $300. The agency is reimbursing us for mileage, but thats it. They told us that if we do not buy insurance to cover clients and can therefore not give them a ride if no cars are available, that we will be fired. Is anything theyre doing illegal?
Asked on May 10, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
What you describe is unfair, but legal. An employer may set the terms and conditions of work. Those terms and conditions can include that employees use their own cars and get the correct insurance to do so, and that the employees themselves bear some or even all of the costs of doing this. (They do not have to even pay you mileage if they don't want to--they could make you foot all the costs.) If employees do not want to work under those terms and conditions, the law presumes that they will quit and seek employment elsewhere--that is your recource or option. You don't have to stay with this employer, but if you do, you have to put up with their rules about vehicles.
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