In California, your employer generally has to provide the tools and equipment you need for the job and reimburse you for necessary work expenses under California Labor Code 256, the IWC Wage Orders, and Labor Code 2802. Labor Code 256 itself is a short enforcement provision that lets the Labor Commissioner impose civil penalties of up to 30 days’ pay for certain wage violations. The substantive rules about who pays for tools, uniforms, mileage, phone bills, and other job costs live in the IWC Wage Orders and Section 2802.
What Your Employer Must Provide
Every IWC Wage Order contains a Section 9 with the same core rule. When your employer requires you to use tools or equipment, or when those items are necessary to do your job, the employer must furnish them and keep them in working condition at no cost to you. That covers hand tools, specialized machinery, and technology like laptops and work phones.
Employers can collect a reasonable deposit for items they furnish, but the deposit has to be returned when you give the items back. No deduction is allowed for normal wear and tear on employer-provided equipment.
The Twice-Minimum-Wage Exception
One narrow exception applies to employees earning at least twice the state minimum wage. If you clear that threshold, your employer can require you to supply and maintain hand tools and equipment that are customary in your trade or craft. With California’s 2026 minimum wage at $16.90 per hour, the threshold sits at $33.80 per hour.
The exception is tighter than it sounds. It covers hand tools traditionally associated with a specific trade. It does not cover employer-mandated technology, specialized machinery, or safety equipment. It also does not apply to apprentices registered with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, regardless of pay rate.
Even when the exception applies, Labor Code 2802 still requires reimbursement for necessary expenditures tied to your job duties. An employer can require a well-paid carpenter to own standard carpentry hand tools, but the employer still has to cover costs like replacing a tool that broke during normal work use.
Reimbursement Under Labor Code 2802
Labor Code 2802 goes well beyond tools. It requires your employer to reimburse you for every necessary expense you incur as a direct result of doing your job or following your employer’s instructions. “Necessary expenditures or losses” includes all reasonable costs, and the statute specifically mentions attorney’s fees when you have to enforce this right in court.
Common examples:
- Mileage when you drive your personal vehicle for work
- A portion of your cell phone bill when you use it for business calls
- Supplies you buy because your employer didn’t provide them
The statute does not cap what qualifies as a necessary expense. If you spent money because your job required it, your employer owes you.
Remote Work Expenses
Section 2802 has taken on new weight for remote employees. California employers must reimburse remote workers for a reasonable percentage of their personal cell phone and internet plans when those are used for business, even when the employee pays a flat monthly rate and business use doesn’t increase the bill. The obligation exists whenever employees have no practical alternative to using their own resources for work.
Beyond phone and internet, other reimbursable remote work expenses can include home printers, paper, ink, computer equipment, monitors, and ergonomic furniture needed to perform job duties from home. The test is always whether the expense was necessary for the work your employer assigned.
Uniforms and Required Attire
The IWC Wage Orders treat uniforms much like tools. If your employer requires you to wear a uniform as a condition of employment, the employer must provide it and maintain it. The Wage Orders define a uniform as wearing apparel and accessories of distinctive design or color.
A general dress code requiring common clothing, like black pants and a white shirt, does not create a uniform, and that cost falls on the employee. Once the employer specifies a particular design, logo, or color scheme that makes the clothing distinctive, it becomes a uniform the employer must furnish. If specialized laundering or dry cleaning is needed, the employer either handles it or provides a reasonable maintenance allowance.
Protective apparel regulated by Cal/OSHA falls under occupational safety rules rather than the uniform provisions, so separate standards govern items like flame-resistant clothing and chemical-resistant gear.
Deductions for Lost or Damaged Items
California employers face strict limits on deducting the cost of lost, broken, or damaged property from your pay. The Labor Commissioner’s office has stated that losses resulting from mistakes or accidents are an inevitable cost of doing business, and the employer must absorb them.
A limited exception under the IWC Wage Orders lets an employer deduct if it can prove the loss was caused by the employee’s dishonest or willful act, or by gross negligence. An accusation alone is not enough. The employer carries the burden of proving fault, and the DLSE has cautioned that even this exception may conflict with Labor Code provisions restricting wage deductions. Self-help deductions carry real legal risk for the employer.
Personal Protective Equipment Under OSHA
Federal OSHA rules add another layer. Under 29 CFR 1910.132, employers must provide personal protective equipment at no cost to employees. That includes hard hats, gloves, goggles, safety glasses, welding helmets, face shields, chemical protective gear, and fall protection equipment.
OSHA carves out a few exceptions. Employers do not have to pay for non-specialty safety-toe footwear or non-specialty prescription safety eyewear if they allow you to wear them off the job site. Everyday and weather clothing, such as long-sleeve shirts, normal work boots, winter coats, and sunscreen, remains the employee’s responsibility. If you already own adequate protective equipment and volunteer to use it, the employer does not have to reimburse you, but the employer cannot require you to buy your own PPE outside the listed exceptions.
Employers must also pay for replacement PPE unless the employee lost or intentionally damaged the original item.
You Cannot Sign Away These Rights
Labor Code 2804 makes any agreement to waive your reimbursement rights under Section 2802 void as a matter of law. It does not matter whether the waiver appears in an employment contract, an employee handbook, or a side agreement you signed voluntarily. Signing such an agreement does not actually give up your rights.
Filing a Claim and What You Can Recover
If your employer fails to reimburse you, you can file a wage claim with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. The statute of limitations is three years from the date you incurred the unreimbursed expense, and it may extend to four years if you pursue a claim under California’s Unfair Competition Law.
Any award for unreimbursed expenses carries interest at the same rate as civil judgments, calculated from the date you actually incurred the expense rather than the date of the award. Section 2802 also allows recovery of attorney’s fees, which gives employees meaningful leverage when the dollar amount alone might not justify hiring a lawyer.
The Labor Commissioner can independently issue citations against employers who violate reimbursement obligations, and amounts recovered through citations are paid directly to the affected employee. One boundary to know: waiting time penalties under Labor Code 203 generally do not apply to unreimbursed expenses, because the Department of Industrial Relations has stated that expenses are not “wages” as defined in Labor Code 200. Unpaid reimbursements alone will not trigger those additional 30-day penalties, though they can be paired with other wage violations that do.