Human Resources

6.01 Cellular Telephone Purchase Reimbursements
and Service Allowances

This policy outlines the terms and conditions under which an employee is eligible to receive a cellular telephone purchase reimbursement or service allowance.

Origination date: 1/10/2020
Applicability: All employees

Cellular telephone purchase reimbursements and service allowances are intended to i) help defray cellular telephone acquisition costs for personal devices that will be used by qualified employees in substantial part to meet the employee’s professional responsibilities; and ii) to reimburse qualified employees for the average business use of their personal cellular telephone service account on a monthly basis. Employees who receive cellular telephone reimbursements and allowances must agree to list their personal cellular telephone in LOUIE.

With supervisor approval, the following employees are eligible to receive cellular telephone purchase reimbursements and service allowances:

• Employees whose course and scope of employment requires considerable travel or time spent outside of the office during normal business or working hours and the use of a smartphone or other mobile device is necessary to facilitate the employee’s effective performance or the maintenance of business operations while away;
• Employees whose course and scope of employment requires the employee to be immediately accessible to receive or send business-related calls, messages, or information outside of normal business or working hours; and
• Employees whose course and scope of employment includes duties that must be performed while away from the office that may expose the employee or others to immediate health or safety risks (e.g., visits to the homes of patients or clients).

Departments may implement additional (but not less restrictive) cellular telephone purchase reimbursement or monthly service allowance criteria in addition to the limitations outlined above. Cellular telephone purchase reimbursements or monthly services allowances may not be paid with grant-restricted funding. Cellular telephones or service plans may be purchased by departments for grant-funded employees in accordance with applicable policy or contractual requirements, however.

The University’s cellular telephone purchase reimbursements and monthly service allowances are not intended to cover the entire cost of owning and operating such personal devices or service accounts. The Internal Revenue Service considers these payments to constitute taxable income. Monthly cellular telephone service allowances are considered wages for retirement contribution purposes.

Approved reimbursements and allowances will be charged to the NAU account approved by the applicable supervisor, who is responsible for ensuring the availability of appropriate funding. Supervisors are also required to periodically review documentation or to otherwise confirm the business use of the cellular telephone to determine continued eligibility and allowance amounts.

Cellular Telephone Purchase Reimbursements (limited to once every 3 years)

Half of device cost up to $150

Cellular Telephone Service Allowances (in addition to 15% vendor discounts)

Voice and text:  up to $20 monthly

Voice, text, and data:  $50 monthly

To initiate a cellular telephone purchase reimbursement or monthly service allowance, employees may, with the approval of their supervisor, submit a completed Cellular Telephone Purchase and Service Allowance Agreement to Human Resources.