Payments

Policy

FIACCT 05-03_05 Payments – Employee reimbursements – employee overtime meal allowance (non-travel)

Effective: July 1, 1994
Revised: July 1, 2013
Reviewed: January 30, 2023

Purpose

Employees are often asked to work overtime, for the benefit of the State at night or on weekends, during times that interfere with their regular home meal times. The overtime often occurs during emergencies or during critical times of the year when deadlines must be met.

Therefore, agencies may authorize taxable meal allowances for these extraordinary conditions.

This is the Division of Finance policy for providing taxable meal allowances when the employee is not on travel status and is working overtime.


Policy

Agencies may authorize a taxable* meal allowance not to exceed meal per diem as defined in FIACCT 10-02.03 during a 24-hour period (midnight to midnight) for employees. The allowance is not considered an absolute right of the employee, especially if the budget of the agency is not adequate to handle this allowance. The allowance may not be given in addition to any other meal allowance or per diem. (See FIACCT 10-02.03 (D) Allowances for Non-Overnight Trips.) The allowance can be given only if both of the following conditions occur:

1. An employee is required to work overtime during a 24-hour period in excess of their “normal” work hours. (“Normal” work hours may include overtime hours if work is seasonal, etc. For example, an employee who works long hours in the summer months and shorter hours in the winter months may have normal hours of 12 in the summer and 4 hours in the winter.) “Normal” work hours are subject to definition by each agency.

2. The executive director or designee has authorized the meal allowance.

If an agency authorizes a taxable meal allowance, an FI48 form must be completed, proper justification must be included in the comments box on the form, and the FI48 form must then be submitted to the agency’s payroll representative (e.g. ERIC Payroll, in-house payroll team, etc.) for entry into the State’s payroll system.

*Taxability is required by IRS Regulations

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