901 - The President or designee must approve all Board members’ expenses other than Board meeting and Annual Conference attendance before reimbursement is allowed.
902 - OSEA shall reimburse each Board member for travel to and from meetings of the Board. Reimbursement of travel expenses will be paid on submission of a verification of such expenses to the Executive Director or designee.
903 - Board members shall receive reimbursement at the IRS rate for qualified car mileage. (Board Meeting, September 1996)
904 - Board members traveling from one zone to another zone for meetings on Association business must have approval from the State President. Expenses for out-of-zone travel will not be reimbursed without authorization from the State President. (Board Meeting, November 1992)
905 - Because the Executive Board is responsible for effective stewardship of our members' dues money, every effort will be made to authorize expenses in a manner which is cautious and cost-effective.
- Memorial Expenditures (Board Meeting, November 2001)
- The Board shall authorize the President or designee to expend not more than $100 for acknowledgment of suffering or losses within the “OSEA Family” (members and staff) including friends of OSEA who have had long-standing positive relationships that have contributed to the betterment of the Association. (Revised Board Meeting, September 2014)
- Acknowledgments may be in the form of cards, flowers, wreaths, living plants, memorial fund contribution or charitable donations on behalf of the individual; whatever seems most appropriate. (Revised Board Meeting, September 2014)
- Acknowledgments shall be for deaths or illnesses/accidents that may be life threatening.
905.1 - Members on OSEA business because of an assignment approved within the budget and when specifically authorized or approved by the President or Executive Director, or their designee, shall be eligible for reimbursement of expenses.
905.2 - Other individuals that are not members may be called upon to perform responsibilities on behalf of the Association. The President and/or Executive Director shall determine the scope of their covered expenses.
905.3 - The Executive Director shall be responsible for establishing the expense policies for OSEA management staff for approval by the Board of Directors.
905.4 - Staff members of OSEASU shall be covered by specific expense policies of the collective bargaining agreement. For policies not specifically contained in the collective bargaining agreement, the Executive Director shall be responsible for establishing policies for approval by the Board of Directors.
905.5 - Lodging Expenses
- Authorized if meeting is scheduled so that travel is required before 7 a.m. or the individual would not arrive home until after 10 p.m. Members may choose to have lodging provided the night before or the night of the scheduled meeting. Lodging may be arranged closer to home on return from the meeting with preauthorized consent of travel arrangements. (2005 Conference)
- Lodging will be provided with the expectation of double room occupancy. Requests for single rooms may be granted based on affordability and the availability of hotel/facility lodging. Any member authorized to stay outside of normal arrangements shall be responsible for making their own lodging/facility arrangements. Receipts shall be required for all lodging reimbursements and submitted in accordance with preauthorized cost and allowance. (Board Meeting, May 1998; Revised 2005 Conference; Revised, Board Meeting, April 2016)
- Recognizing their responsibility and the likelihood of requiring meeting space, single rooms may be provided to the President and Executive Director.
905.6 - Meals
- 1. OSEA will reimburse the cost of in-state meals to a maximum of $40 per day. The maximum amount for any one meal will be $21. (Board Meeting, January 2000; Revised Board Meeting, October 2005)
2. For out-of-state travel, the maximum meal allowance will be $50 per day. The maximum amount for any one meal will be $25. (Board Meeting, September 1996; Revised Board Meeting, October 2005)
3. OSEA will reimburse cost of gratuity exclusive of the per diem amount. (Board Meeting, January 2000) - To be eligible for a meal, the individual must be engaged in OSEA business, or travel status to such business, over the normal meal period for which reimbursement is requested.
- For purposes of effective meetings, the President or Executive Director may authorize direct payment by OSEA of meals. Individuals who are provided meals under these circumstances will not be reimbursed for any additional costs for that meal.
- The President or Executive Director shall make every effort to assure that such group meals are provided at a cost close to the maximum meal allowance for that particular meal.
- The President or Executive Director may authorize refreshments for breaks at a reasonable cost.
905.7 - Transportation
Members on approved union business shall be eligible for reimbursement for transportation expenses:
- In driving a vehicle, members shall be eligible for reimbursement at the current IRS rate. (Board Meeting, September 1996)
- Members will be expected to make every effort to carpool.
- Other modes of transportation may be authorized by the President or Executive Director if they evaluate the need as cost or time effective.
- The President or Executive Director may approve rental cars where the total cost for the period of time involved is less expensive than the mileage reimbursement rate would be to drive their own car. (Board Meeting, September 1996)
905.8 - Miscellaneous
While traveling out-of-state, an $8 per day per diem check will be issued in advance for incidentals; no receipts will be requested on usage of the incidental payment. (Board Meeting, September 1996; Revised Board Meeting, October 2005)
Members on approved union business may also be reimbursed for the following types of expenses:
- Parking
- Phone calls
- Meeting supplies or costs authorized in advance by the President or Executive Director.
- Other expenses necessary to carry out union business may be reimbursed if approved in advance by the President or Executive Director.
905.9 - Documentation
- All expenses that have not been directly billed to OSEA by the provider must be documented with itemized receipts. The explanation of the expense must include:
- Who incurred the expense?
- What was the business purpose of the expense?
- Where the expense was incurred?
- When the expense was incurred?
- The nature of the expense (for example, meals, transportation, etc.).
- Receipts are not required for mileage, public transportation, or parking meters, but the expense must be properly identified as in 9a above.c.
- For lodging expenses, which are billed directly to OSEA by the vendor, only the room and tax may be direct billed. The member is responsible for submitting all other expenses for reimbursement.
- The President shall be provided with a credit card with a credit limit of $3,500. The purpose of this card is to recognize the unique responsibility of the President and to therefore provide a more convenient method to cover expenses. Use of the card is authorized only for budgeted expenses and in accordance with these expense policies. No personal expenses may be applied to the credit card. All credit card expenses must be documented as specified in (a) above.
- All other Board members may request a credit card as a more convenient method to cover expenses. All credit card expenses must be documented as specified in (a) above. The credit limit shall be $500. (Board Meeting, January 1997)
905.10 - Central Labor Council/Chapter Delegate Expenses (Board Meeting, September 2014; Revised Board Meeting, December 2015)
Delegates appointed to their respective Central Labor Council/Chapter (CLC) shall receive a fuel reimbursement for attendance at CLC meetings or events as reported by the lead delegate to the OSEA State Office. This reimbursement is dependent upon available funding and is based on total round-trip mileage to and from the CLC meeting location at the current IRS rate. Delegates are encouraged to carpool to events.
CLC meetings are normally scheduled for early evening. A pre-council/chapter meeting meal shall be provided for all delegates attending said meeting. The meal cost shall not exceed the maximum single meal limit if a meal is not provided by the CLC.
Other expenses will require prior approval by the OSEA State President.
Elected officials and delegates of the CLC who are conducting business in the capacity of their elected position and not OSEA shall submit their expense reimbursements in accordance with their respective CLC Constitution and Bylaws.
910 - Member Training (Board Meeting, April 2001; Revised Board Meeting, December 2015)
In recognition that it is important for member leaders to have as much access as possible to training opportunities, and in order to allocate funds from OSEA in a fiscally prudent and fair manner, the following guidelines are established to assist the Executive Director in making decisions regarding such allocations:
- All requests for member training will be submitted to the Executive Director. Such requests shall include the training date(s), a course description, duration and registration cost.
- Any request for training outside that offered by OSEA shall be considered in the context of available OSEA training. (i.e., It is not likely that payment for a training course offered by Labor Education and Research Center will be approved if OSEA is capable of offering similar training in close geographic proximity within or close to the same period of time as the request.)
- At the discretion of the Executive Director, with full consideration of funding availability, reimbursement of registration fees on a case-by-case basis may be approved.
- In addition, the Executive Director, with the advice and consent of the Board, may authorize reimbursement for meals, lodging and other expenses. Full consideration will also be given to chapter cost sharing feasibility.