mlindsey104
New Member
I work for a major cell phone service provider (Sprint) through an indirect (locally owned) dealer. My local company is requiring it's employees to carry a Blackberry device with an active number to have access to sales calls and emails after normal business hours. The contract on all employee Blackberry's is in the locally owned indirect dealer's name and not under the individual employees social security number.
The owner of the local company is deducting $50.00 from all employee paychecks to cover the cost of the rate plan but not giving the employee an option to refuse the Blackberry and service. He claims that he is well within his legal right to charge the employees this cost because we (the employees) can claim the cost on our tax returns as a business expense.
If the cellular contract is in the company's name and tax id, can the employee claim these costs that are deducted from our paychecks as a business expense on our tax returns? Furthermore, is there any legal precidence for employees who are forced to do work related business after normal business hours through a Blackberry for those employees to seek compensation for that time?
The owner of the local company is deducting $50.00 from all employee paychecks to cover the cost of the rate plan but not giving the employee an option to refuse the Blackberry and service. He claims that he is well within his legal right to charge the employees this cost because we (the employees) can claim the cost on our tax returns as a business expense.
If the cellular contract is in the company's name and tax id, can the employee claim these costs that are deducted from our paychecks as a business expense on our tax returns? Furthermore, is there any legal precidence for employees who are forced to do work related business after normal business hours through a Blackberry for those employees to seek compensation for that time?
