I. Introduction
Eligible employees may receive a predetermined allowance to cover the cost of University business related calls on their personal wireless phone. Employees who are not eligible for the allowance may be reimbursed for University business related calls on their personal wireless phone with appropriate documentation for the business calls.
II. Eligibility for Wireless Phone Allowance
The University may provide a wireless phone allowance to an employee if at least one of the following criteria is met:
- The job requires substantial time outside the office and it is important to the University that the employee is immediately accessible to receive and/or make frequent University calls during those times.
- The job requires the employee to be immediately accessible to receive and/or make frequent University calls outside of working hours.
- Job duties away from the office may expose the employee or others to immediate harm or danger.
Eligibility for allowance is based on job necessity, frequency and safety, not title or position.
Departmental eligibility criteria can be more (but not less) restrictive than the University criteria.
III. Wireless Phone Allowance Amount
The wireless phone allowance is $25 per month ($12.50 per pay period for Bi-Weekly and Semi- Monthly). If the job duties require significant data usage of the wireless phone (e.g., text messaging, email, internet), the employee may be eligible to receive a total allowance not to exceed $45 per month ($22.50 per pay period for Bi-Weekly and Semi-Monthly).Occasional extraordinary University use of an employee’s personal wireless phone in excess of the monthly allowance may be reimbursed with appropriate documentation (refer to Section IV., Item d.).
The allowance is intended to reimburse the employee for the University’s business portion usage of the phone and not pay the entire phone bill. The allowance is taxable income to the employee and will be included in taxable wages on the employee’s Form W-2. The allowance is subject to income taxes (FIT, SIT, Medicare, and Social Security, as applicable), but not eligible for State University Retirement System contributions and salary increases. The allowance may be withdrawn at any time and is not included in the employee’s base salary.
The employee may select any wireless carrier whose service meets the requirements of the job responsibilities as determined by the fiscal officer. The phone is owned by the employee and may be used for personal and University use.
The employee is responsible for obtaining a phone and maintaining a monthly plan that meets the minimum level of service required by the department. The employee is responsible for all charges on his/her personal wireless plan, including the purchase cost of the phone instrument, activation fees, replacement, wireless usage, and any early termination fees.
The employee must sign the Wireless Phone Allowance Request Form, and submit to their department; thereby certifying that he/she will provide the phone number within five days of activation and will be available for calls during those times specified by management. The department must approve the employee’s request and route as directed at the bottom of the form. Management may periodically request that the employee provide a copy of a recent wireless phone bill to verify that he/she has an active wireless phone plan with substantial University use.
The employee must notify their department to discontinue the allowance when the eligibility criteria is no longer met or when the wireless service is cancelled. The department must then complete the bottom section of the Wireless Phone Allowance Request Form and route as directed at the bottom of the form. If the employee leaves the position, he/she continues to be responsible for the contractual obligations of his/her wireless plan.
The allowance will be charged to only one departmental account, as specified by the fiscal officer on the Wireless Phone Allowance Request Form.
IV. Employees Not Eligible for a Wireless Phone Allowance
Employees not eligible for a wireless phone allowance may be reimbursed for necessary University business related calls made with their personal wireless phone with appropriate documentation. Reimbursement will be available only to the extent that the plan’s anytime minutes are exceeded. Reimbursement will be computed using average cost per minute:
- Divide the total monthly bill, less long distance charges, by the total number of minutes used that month to derive a per-minute charge.
- Multiply the per-minute charge by the number of necessary University minutes that month to the extent that they exceed the plan’s anytime minutes.
- If applicable, add specific long distance charges attributable to the University calls.
- Submit a properly approved AP Invoice Distribution Form to Accounts Payable supported by a copy of the wireless phone bill highlighting the University calls and the purpose of the calls along with sufficient documentation reflecting the above referenced calculations.
- The AP Invoice Distribution Form must be received within sixty days of receipt of the bill to be non-taxable. Reimbursement after sixty days will be considered taxable income to the employee, subject to applicable employment taxes and included in the employee’s Form W-2.
V. University Provided Wireless Service
The University may provide certain employee positions a University owned wireless phone with the approval of the respective Vice Chancellor or equivalent. Examples of positions that may be provided University owned wireless phones include: police officers, construction/maintenance employees, and other positions with multiple work locations. The University provided wireless phones should generally not be assigned to a specific individual or taken home on a regular basis.
No personal calls are allowed on University provided devices. Fiscal officers should review the monthly bills of University provided phones to ensure that no personal calls were made. Inadvertent or emergency personal calls must be reimbursed to the department at the rate of $.30 per minute plus long distance charges.
Fiscal officers must submit a University Provided Wireless Phone Plan Request, and have it approved by the Dean/Director and Vice Chancellor or equivalent. The Telecommunications Department will keep approved University Provided Wireless Phone Plan Request Forms on file.
VI. Special Rules for Grant Accounts
Only "direct costs" can be charged to grants and contracts. Therefore, the wireless phone allowance cannot be charged to grant accounts. Potential alternatives include:
- Charge a wireless phone allowance to a non-grant account,
- Charge to the grant account calls directly related to the grant or project made with the employee’s personal wireless phone (see Section V), or
- Charge a University provided wireless phone plan (see Section V) to the grant account provided that only calls directly related to that specific grant (and no personal call) are allowed.
Charges related to alternatives (b) and (c) above must be included in the approved agency budget.
VII. Implementation
The effective date of the Guidelines is December 1, 2007;amended March 15, 2016-effective July 1, 2016
