Charging for lost headsets?

[re1jb]

Is it legal in the state of California to charge employees for lost headsets after supplying the first one at no cost?
re1jb

[jacote]

I cannot speak for California law, but I can say it's not uncommon for companies to charge for headsets. Some companies provide them free of charge, while others offer it as an optional benefit where the company may pay for 50% of the headset.

Personally, I wouldn't suggest you charge for it. The way I look at it, disability claims far outweigh any cost for a headset replacement. I don't think employees should go without headsets if they are on the phone more than 4 hours/day.

If you plan on making it mandatory to use a headset you should not charge employees, and you may not have a practical and ethical right to charge an employee for an instrument they are obliged to use based on your policy. Optional use is another thing.

Good luck - By the way, go with refurbished if cost is becoming an issue. I supply factory reconditioned units at deep discounts and a 1 year warranty.

[LJCPyxis]

We had a problem with lost and damaged headsets. We were sending headsets for repairs almost every week.

Due to the high cost, we did advise all agents that we would be charging them for reckless damage or lost headsets.

I can tell you that the repairs were less frequent and so where the lost reports.

Keep in mind that not all damage headsets were charged back to the employee. Only the reckless damaged ones.

PS. Headsets were manditory as a job condition and we supplied the headsets