Cell Phone Policy

Kettering provides a taxable allowance for individuals required to carry cell phones, resulting in the employee having both the freedom of choice and responsibility for his or her own cell phone plan. Kettering does not purchase assigned-employee cell phone contracts. If job duties require the frequent need for a cell phone, then an employee may be eligible for an allowance to cover cell phone expenses. It is the employee’s responsibility to choose a plan which will allow access to the employee by cell phone for business purposes.

Who is Eligible

The university may provide a cell phone allowance to an employee if at least one of the following criteria is met:

The job requires considerable time outside the office and it is important to the university that the employee be immediately accessible to receive and/or make frequent business calls during those times.
The job requires the employee to be immediately accessible to receive and/or make frequent business calls outside of working hours.

Simple convenience is not sufficient. Eligibility is based on necessity and frequency, not title and position. Documented phone records may be required to prove eligibility.

How

The employee must fill out a Cell Phone Allowance Form and have it approved by the Manager(s) and Vice President of his or her area. The dollar amount determined for the cell phone allowance should cover the employee’s projected business-related expenses. The determination of the allowance is made at the Vice Presidential level but must be within the guidelines and dollar limits established under this policy. Amounts should be based on projected use and may be less than the maximum monthly university allowance of:

$48 on-call outside of working hours or considerable time outside the office
$72 on-call outside of working hours and considerable time outside the office

An additional maximum monthly allowance of $48 may be provided if job duties also require significant data usage (e-mail, Internet).

Employee’s Responsibilities

The employee must retain an active cell phone contract as long as the cell phone allowance is paid. Because the cell phone is personally owned by the employee and the allowance provided is taxable income, the employee may use the phone for both business and personal use. The employee may add extra services or features at his or her own expense. Business use need not be documented separately for audit purposes; however, documentation may help support a request for future cell phone allowance amounts.

The employee must make the number available to the necessary employees of the university.

The employee is responsible for payment of his or her own cell phone bill and will not be reimbursed on expense reports for cell phone expenses.

If the employee changes or terminates a plan based on a personal decision, employee misconduct or misuse of the phone, the employee will bear the cost of any fees associated with the change or cancellation.

Department’s Responsibilities

If the employee is forced to change or terminate a contract due to departmental reasons, the department will bear the cost of any fees associated with the change or cancellation.

The department must notify the Payroll department if the allowance is to be changed or discontinued by filling out and submitting a new Cell Phone Allowance Form. Copies of Allowance Forms must be maintained by the department for audit purposes.

The Vice President must determine access to the allowance program. If an employee’s duties do not warrant the need for a cell phone, the employee is not eligible for an allowance. Participation should be reviewed annually by the Vice President to see if the need continues or amounts adjusted.

Employees Who Do Not Qualify for an Allowance

Employees not eligible for an allowance may request reimbursement for the actual extra expenses of business cell phone calls documented on their personal phone bills. Reimbursement is limited to the extra charges for business air-time minutes used at the per rate charge shown on the invoice. Extra minutes included in the plan will not be reimbursed. These requests should be filed on an employee Travel Report and must list the amount of the expense, the time and place of call and the business purpose of the call. A copy of the entire invoice must be attached.

The Vice President may choose to purchase a phone to be used at a shared level. For example, a prepaid-track phone may be purchased and checked out to an employee for a short period of time. No personal calls are allowed on university-provided phones. The phone remains Kettering property and needs to be turned in at the end of the day or trip. Separate call substantiation requirements will be necessary and the records should remain in the department for audit purposes.

Rights

The university reserves the right to modify or discontinue this plan based on future needs or requirements.